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MANUAL OF. 
UNITARIAN BELIEF 


BY 
JAMES FREEMAN CLARKE 


Jori 1: 2,3. Hath this been in your days, 
or in the days of your fathers? Tell ye 
your children of it and let your children tell 
their children. 





TWENTIETH EDITION 


REVISED AND PUBLISHED WITH 
A NEW LIST OF REFERENCES 


BOSTON 
THE BEACON PRESS, INC. 
1924 


Copyright, 1924, By 
THE BEACON PRESS, Ine. 


All rights reserved 


PRINTED IN U. 8. A. 


PREFACE 


As Unitarians have no creed, and as their union 
is one of sympathy and co-operation, and not of 
formulas, no one among them has any right to 
define the views of others. A Manual such as this 
is meant to express what is the general belief of 
the majority of Unitarians. Every proposition 
contained in it is open to discussion, correction, 
and revision. No one is bound by it and it does 
not attempt to limit thought, but rather to stimu- 
late and rouse inquiry. 

The successive subjects are intended to be made 
the theme of discussion and to suggest to both 
teacher and pupil topics for investigation. To 
this end questions originally prepared by Mrs. 
Kate Gannett Wells, and now somewhat revised, 
are added at the close of each lesson, and refer- 
ences are given to passages of Scripture, to ap- 
propriate books and pamphlets and to hymns ex- 
pressive of Unitarian principles and ideals. 

It is recommended that the text at the begin- 
ning and the hymn at the end of each lesson be 
committed to memory, and that two or more of the 
pamphlets in the list of references be read in 
advance of each meeting of the class. All the 

ill 


se PREFACE 


pamphlets are published by the American Uni- 
tarian Association and may be obtained by ad- 
dressing the Publication Department, 25 Beacon 
St., Boston, Mass. The books may be purchased 
from The Beacon Press, Inc., 25 Beacon Street, 
Boston, Mass., or may be borrowed without charge 
from the Circulating Library at the same address. 


For this twentieth edition of Dr. Clarke’s 
Manual the text has been carefully and sympa- 
thetically revised by Rev. Charles T. Billings and 
the hymns and references have been added to the 
original material. Several of the lessons have 
been consolidated and one new lesson (No. 19) 
has been added. 


OHAPTER 


CONTENTS 


RELIGION 

CHRISTIANITY 
PROTESTANTISM 
UNITARIANISM 

THE BIBLE 

Gop 

Tue TRINITY . 

JESUS CHRIST : 
THE TEACHING OF JESUS . 
THE Work oF JESUS . 
Toe Hony Spirit 
Tue Nature or Man . 


ATONEMENT, CONVERSION AND REGENERA- 


tion . 
PRAYER 
THE CHURCH 
CREEDS : 
LiprraL CHRISTIANITY 
CHARACTER 
CHRISTIAN UNITY 
THe Futures Lire 


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PAGE 





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Y 24 





Manual of Unitarian Belief 


LESSON I 
RELIGION 


Psalm 90:1. Lord, thou hast been our dwelling- 
place in all generations. 


1. Religion may be defined as the worship and 
service of God. It is necessary, because man is 
feeble, and needs divine power to give him 
strength; he is ignorant, and needs divine light 
to guide him; he is selfish, and needs the inspira- 
tion to service and to character; he is mortal, and 
needs faith in thing's unseen and eternal. 

2. That religion is natural to man appears from 
the fact that in a higher or lower form it has been 
found among all races and nations, among civil- 
ized and savage peoples, in ancient and modern 
times. 

3. The following elements in the soul of man 
constitute the basis of religion; namely, the sense 
of dependence and awe in the face of the mysteri- 
ous facts of life; conscience, or the sense of right 
and wrong, giving the ideas of duty and responsi- 

1 


2 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


bility; reason, or the faculty which perceives the 
truth and its universal and necessary laws; aspt- 
ration, which tends toward the good, the beautiful, 
and the true. 

4. Some have tried to emphasize one aspect of 
religion at the expense of the others. They have 
been content to worship and neglect service, or 
have tried to be useful and neglected worship. 
The true worship of God nourishes good will to 
men. Works lead inevitably to faith, and true 
religious faith always works. The best service 
comes from the man whose heart is fixed on God. 
Religion fails if it is regarded as apart from life. 
It is really a part of life. 


The Stream of Religious Faith 


From heart to heart, from creed to creed 
The hidden river runs; 

It quickens all the ages down, 

It binds the sires to sons,— 


The stream of faith, whose source is God, 
Whose sound, the sound of prayer, 

Whose meadows are the holy lives 
Upspringing everywhere. 


And still it moves, a broadening flood, 
And fresher, fuller grows 


RELIGION 3 


A sense as if the sea were near, 
Towards which the river flows. 


O Thou who art the secret Source 
That riseth in each soul, 
Thou art the Ocean, too,—and thine, 
That ever deepening roll! 
Wititiam CHannine GANNETT, 1875. 


QUESTIONS 


1. What is the definition of religion? What is the 
difference between the worship and the service of God? 
How does worshipping and serving God help one to de- 
cide upon what is right? What four reasons are given 
to show the necessity of religion? 

2. Why do we think religion is natural to man? 
What is a great difference between the present and past 
worship of God? (In the past, the sacrifice of animal 
and occasionally of human life; in the present, the sac- 
rifice of the selfish will.) Is fear or love the best motive 
in religion? Why? Which is apt to be more lasting? 

3. What constitutes the basis of religion? How does 
the sense of dependence come to us? What is the dif- 
ference between conscience and reason? Does reason 
sharpen our conscience? Could we long to be better if 
we did not feel that there is a higher life which we are 
capable of living? 

4, Is service its own reward? Does not morality need 
religion as much as religion needs morality? Can you 
think of any body of men who have placed worship 


4 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


above service, or service above worship? Why are both 
needed? Why is religion weak apart from life? 


REFERENCES 
PAMPHLETS 
A. U. A. 62. George Batchelor. Religion tts own 
Evidence. 
Ad 84. Charles G. Ames. Will Mankind 


Outgrow Religion? 

% 140. Charles W. Eliot. Religion. 

7 252. John Fiske. The Everlasting Reality 
of Religion. 


Books 


Moore, George F. The History of Religions. 2 vols. 
Scribner, N. Y., 1919. 

Coe, George iN The Psychology of Religion. The 
University of Chicago Press, 1916. 

Dole, Charles F. A Religion for the New Day. B. 
W. Huebsch, N. Y., 1920. 

Peabody, Francis G. The Religion of an Educated 
Man. Macmillan, N. Y., 1904. 

Dodson, George R. The Sympathy of Religtons. The 
Beacon Press, Inc., 1917. 


LESSON IT 
CHRISTIANITY 


John 10:10. I came that they may have life, 
and may have it abundantly. 


5. Christianity is the religion taught by Jesus 
and his Apostles, as recorded in the New Testa- 
ment. Founded by Jesus, this religion has con- 
tinued to the present time, and is still the faith 
professed by those nations of the world which are 
most advanced in civilization. 

6. Men call themselves Christians who recog- 
nize in Jesus and his teaching the source of all 
that is best in their religion. Some Christians 
feel that they only are Christians who have 
adopted a certain theory that Jesus is God—a 
theory which Jesus himself never held, but which 
grew up in the early centuries of the Church. 
Unitarians believe that all are really Christians, 
whatever creed or lack of creed they profess, who 
think, act and live in the spirit of Jesus. 

When we read the life and teachings of Jesus 
we find in them what feeds the moral and spirit- 
ual nature, and satisfies the highest needs of the 


soul. We then believe consciously and experi- 
5 


6 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


mentally in him, because he helps us to be good 
and to do good. 

When we are able to compare the character 
and truth of Jesus with those of other teachers 
and masters—as Moses, Confucius, Buddha, 
Mohammed, Socrates—we find in him a greater 
depth and fullness of spiritual life than in any 
other and so we believe in him as the best of 
teachers and masters. 

7. The two great divisions of the Christian 
Church in this country are the Protestant and 
the Roman Catholic. Unitarians believe Prot- 
estantism to be more in accordance with the 
teaching of Jesus, and we also find it more 
frequently associated with free thought, social 
progress, and liberal institutions. 


Our Master 


O Lord and Master of us all! 
Whate’er our name or sign, 

We own thy sway, we hear thy call, 
We test our lives by thine. 


We faintly hear, we dimly see, 
In differing phrase we pray; 
But, dim or clear, we own in thee 
The light, the truth, the way. 


CHRISTIANITY 7 


To do thy will is more than praise, 
As words are less than deeds; 

And simple trust can find thy ways 
We miss with chart of creeds. 


Our Friend, our Brother, and our Lord; 
What may thy service be?— 
Nor name, nor form, nor ritual word, 
But simply following thee. 
JOHN GREENLEAF WuHirttinr, 1866. 


QUESTIONS 


5. What does Christianity mean? Why does it have 
that name? Is something more than civilization needed 
in order to make us happy and useful? 

6. Who are Christians? Is it Christian to hold a 
belief about Jesus or to practice the religion of Jesus? 
Are people who are called Christians always good and 
wise? Why does Jesus seem dearer and better to you 
than Moses, Confucius, Buddha, Mohammed, or Soc- 
rates? Are they not also masters? What is spiritual 
life? Is there a reason for everything? Shall we use 
our reason about religious matters? Has Christianity 
grown? Has it varied from age to age? What are its 
vital elements? How would you define Christianity ? 
Is Christianity something that appeals to your thought, 
or to your loyalty? or both? If it appeals to your heart 
and mind and will, does not this show that it stands 
high among the religions of the world? What is meant 


8 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 

by loving God with the mind? Is Christianity a fixed 

system, or is it still capable of growth? 
REFERENCES 


PAMPHLETS 


A. U. A. 48. Brooke Herford. Christianity as Christ 
Preached %t. 


me 96. Charles G. Ames. Umitarian Christi- 
amty. 

a 109. Minot J. Savage. What is Christi- 
anity ? 

mh 245. Edward Everett Hale. Christianity is 
a Lafe. 


ef 277. Charles W. Eliot. The Crying Need of 
a Renewed Christianity. 


Books 


Harnack, Adolf. What is Christiamty? Translated 
by T. B. Saunders. Putnam, N. Y., 1900. 

Burkitt, F. Crawford. The Gospel History and tts 
Transmission. T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh, 1906. 

Lake, Kirsopp. The Stewardship of Fath. Putnam, 
N. Y., 1915. 

Peabody, Francis G. The Christian Life in the Mod- 
ern World. Macmillan, N. Y., 1914. 


LESSON III 
PROTESTANTISM 
John 8:32. The Truth shall make you free. 


8. Protestantism derives its name from the 
protest made by the German princes at the Diet 
of Speier (Spires) in 1529 against the crushing 
of the new doctrines which were beginning to 
hold sway. Martin Luther was the moving spirit 
of Protestantism. He maintained that the au- 
thority of the Bible was above that of the Pope. 
He did not, however, indicate who should in- 
terpret the Bible, and it needed a mighty intellect 
to organize a new church on the basis of the new 
authority. This was the work of John Calvin, 
but even his guidance could not prevent the new 
church from becoming divided. The Church of 
England, though influenced by Calvinism, main- 
tains now that it is the purified Catholic Church. 
The Quakers separated from the Protestant 
Church because of their doctrine of the ‘‘inner 
light,’’ and the Methodists in their protest against 
predestination. The Baptists, Presbyterians and 
the Congregationalists were all Calvinistic, but 


the Baptists separated themselves from others 
9 


10 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


by their interpretation of the rite of baptism, and 
Presbyterians and Congregationalists because 
of their forms of government. Unitarians are 
protestants because their churches sprang from 
the older churches of Protestantism—in England 
chiefly from the Presbyterians, in the United 
States from the Congregationalists. 

9. The result is that Protestant Christendom 
is today divided into many sects which are too 
often rivals of one another. These divisions 
prevent the united action which would make 
Christianity vitally effective. This is the great 
weakness of Christianity. The solution seems to 
lie not in the absorption of the sects by any one 
church, but in a larger spirit of co-operation 
rene the sects will no longer look upon them- 
selves as sects, cut off from each other, but as 
branches of the Christian Chureh, drawing their 
power from the same great sources and leading 
their adherents to the rage: spirit that makes 
all one. 


He was very confident the Lord had more light 
and truth yet to break forth out of 
his holy word 


Who dares to bind to his dull sense — 
The oracles of heaven, Le 
For all the nations, tongues, and climes, 

And all the ages given? © 


PROTESTANTISM weve SE 


That universe, how much unknown! 
That ocean unexplored! 

The Lord hath yet more light and truth 
To break forth from his word. 


Darkling our great forefathers went 
The first steps of the way; 

’Twas but the dawning, yet to grow 
Into the perfect day :— 

And grow it shall; our glorious Sun 
More fervid rays afford; 

The Lord hath yet more light and truth 

To break forth from his word. | 


The valleys past, ascending still 
Our souls would higher climb, 
And look down from supernal heights 
On ali the bygone time. 
Upward we press; the air is clear, 
And the sphere-music heard; 
The Lord hath yet more light and truth 
To break forth from his word. 
Gzorce Rawson. 


QUESTIONS 


8. What is the derivation of the name Protestant? 
Who were the leading figures in the movement? What 
was the difference in their work? How did the di- 
visions in the churches come about? What churches 


12 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


separated from others on the basis of doctrine? of rit- 
ual? of government? of the source of authority? 

9. How many sects can you enumerate? What is the 
harm of the sects? What is the good of them? What 
is the greatest weakness of Christianity? What do you 
think is the best remedy? How can we get men of 
different religious convictions to co-operate? Is a creed 
or a great purpose more effective? 


REFERENCES 


PAMPHLETS 


A. U. A. 73. Howard N. Brown. The Unétarian 
Church in its Relation to other 
Protestant Churches. 


Booxs 


McGiffert, Arthur C. Martin Luther: the Man and 
his Work. Scribner, N. Y., 1911. 

Smith, Preserved. Jtfe and Letters of Martin Luther. 
Houghton, Mifflin Co., Boston, 1910. 

Walker, Williston. John Calvin, the Orgamzer of 
Reformed Protestantism. Putnam, N. Y., 1906. 

The Religious History of New England. King’s 
Chapel Lectures. Cambridge University Press, 1917. 

Lyon, W. H. A Study of the Christian Sects. The 
Beacon Press, Inc., 1924. 


LESSON IV 
UNITARIANISM 


II Corinthians 3:17. Where the spirit of the 
Lord is, there 1s liberty. 


10. Unitarianism is that form of Christianity 
which emphasizes the spiritual and practical 
rather than the dogmatic elements of faith and 
wheh affirms the underlying unities of thought 
and life. 

Unitarians believe in— 

(1) THe Untry or Gop; God in one person 
rather than in three persons in one God. To 
Unitarians, God is an Infinite Spirit, the Universal 
Father, the Source of all life and truth, and the 
only object of worship. 

(2) THe Uniry or Man; all men members one 
of another and designed for universal brother- 
hood. 

(3) Tse Untry or Man witH Gop in one divine 
nature, man as the child of God being a partaker 
of His Spirit. 

(4) Tue Untry or Law; all things in earth and 
heaven controlled and guided by one loving will 


which has in it nothing capricious or spasmodic. 
13 


14 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


(5) Tue Unity or Destiny; God’s love ul- 
timately winning all souls into complete fellow- 
ship with Himself. 

(6) Tur Unriry or Lirs, here and hereafter, 
in one continued discipline, education and pro- 
gress. 

11. Unitarians emphasize the spiritual interpre- 
tations of religion rather than the formal or 
doctrinal or supernatural elements. They make 
love rather than fear the impulse to a Christian 
life. They appeal to men to be religious, not 
with the arguments of self-reproach but with 
those of self-respect. They put service above 
sacrament, reason above traditional opinions, 
character above creed. They feel that fixity of 
form or doctrine means the atrophy of thought 
and life, and so they keep their habits of worship 
and their methods of organization free and flex- 
ible. They hold that a living church must ever 
seek to deepen and enrich its thought and wor- 
ship, and that a Unitarian Church offers men 
primarily, not salvation or safety, but a vigorous 
inspiration for a nobler and more abundant life. 


Behold, I make all things new 


O Life that maketh all things new,— 

The blooming earth, the thoughts of men! 
Our pilgrim feet, wet with thy dew, 

In gladness hither turn again. 


UNITARIANISM 15 


From hand to hand the greeting flows, 
From eye to eye the signals run, 

From heart to heart the bright hope glows; 
The seekers of the Light are one. 


One in the freedom of the truth, 

One in the joy of paths untrod, 

One in the soul’s perennial youth, 
One in the larger thought of God;— 


The freer step, the fuller breath, 
The wide horizon’s grander view, 
The sense of life that knows no death,— 
The life that maketh all things new. 
SAMUEL LoncFELLOw, 1874. 


QUESTIONS 


10. What is the derivation of the words ‘‘ Unitarian’’ 
and ‘‘Trinitarian’’? What does the word ‘‘Orthodox’’ 
signify ? | 

Why should we be loyal to our truth? Why to our 
Church? In what ways can we show our loyalty? 
Should we not strive in every way to spread what we 
believe the highest form of religion? What form of 
religion appeals most to fear? Which to love? How 
did Christianity spread? Do we need a missionary 
spirit ? 

11. Why is it better to emphasize inspiration rather 
than salvation? How many Unitarians can you name 


16 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIBE 


who were prominent in their fields of labor? How do 
they teach brotherhood? What is the aim of the Uni- 
tarian Church? What is a living church? 


110. 


289. 


301. 


REFERENCES 


PAMPHLETS 


Charles W. Wendte. What do Um- 
tarians Believe? 

J. T. Sunderland. What do Um- 
tartans Believe? 

Brooke Herford. The Main Innes of 
Religion as Held by Umnitarians. 

Charles G. Ames. Unitarian Christt- 
amty. 

Joseph H. Crooker. A Plea for Sincer- 
aty in Religious Thought. 

Karl M. Wilbur. The First Century of 
the Liberal Movement. 

Charles Graves. A History of Unitari- 
anism. 


Books 


(Published by The Beacon Press, Inc.) 


Wilbur, Earl M. Our Religious Heritage. 1924. 
Cooke, G. W. Umitarianism in America. 1902. 
Emerton, Ephraim. Unitarian Thought. 1911. 
Receord, A. P. Who are the Unitarians? 1920. 


LESSON V 
THE BIBLE 


Wisdom of Solomon 7:27. And from genera- 
tion to generation passing into holy souls Wis- 
dom. maketh men friends of God and prophets. 


12. Unitarians regard the Bible as a _ book 
which brings us near to God by placing us in 
communion with some of the deepest and loftiest 
thoughts and experiences of mankind. 

13. We believe the Bible an inspired book be- 
cause it contains thoughts which come to men by 
inspiration. The Psalms, the Book of Job, 
Isaiah, the writings of Paul, and the words of 
Jesus were not merely the result of pure think- 
ing, but came from the death of the heart that was 
fixed on God. 

14, But, though considering it an inspired book, 
Unitarians also regard the Bible as coming from 
human sources. It is full of human experience, 
sorrow, joy, temptation, sin, repentance, trust, 
hope, love. Coming from the deepest places in 
man’s heart, it goes to the deepest places. It: 
has its heights and depths, its lofty mountain- 


tops and its level barren plains. It is human, 
17 


18 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


therefore fallible. Written by many men and at 
different times, it is of very various application 
and value. There is little that is edifying for us 
in some parts. Our Bible opens naturally at the 
Psalms, the Sermon on the Mount, the parables 
of Jesus, the ardent utterances of the soul of 
Paul. 

15. Unitarians do not believe in the infallibility 
of the Bible. Inspiration leads to the sight 
of truth and reality, but not necessarily to a 
perfectly accurate description of what is seen. 
But these errors of expression do not detract 
from the authority of the Bible as a teacher of 
the best moral and spiritual truth. 

16. It took a long time for the Hebrews to 
decide just what books should be included in the 
Old Testament and for the Christians to decide 
what should be included in the New. The Bible, 
therefore, is a growth in conception and compila- 
tion. The real value of the Bible for us is not 
primarily in the development of thought and life 
that it reveals, nor in its literary power, but that 
it is the one book containing the best expression 
of the principles of Christianity and the ideals. 
which prepared the way for it. 

17. Unitarians also see a difference in the 
moral and religious teaching of different parts of 
the Bible. The Old Testament teaches a different 
doctrine from the New in regard to God, duty, 


THE BIBLE 19 


and immortality. The truth unfolds itself grad- 
ually to human eyes; and the human race may 
say, aS Paul said, ‘‘When I was a child, I spake 
as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child; 
now that I am become a man, I have put away 
childish things (I Corinthians 13:11). 

The Unitarian objections to the doctrine of 
infallible inspiration of the Scripture are such 
as these :— 

(a) The Scripture nowhere claims or assumes 
mfallibility. The texts usually relied on (II Tim- 
othy 3:16 and II Peter 1:21) teach that the 
Prophets and Apostles were inspired, but do not 
assert that their inspiration made them infallible. 

(b) The Scripture contains errors and con- 
tradictions which are fatal to the theory of tts 
infallibility. But if its authority consists in its 
being more full of truth and goodness than any 
other book, then its errors of detail cannot shake 
its divine power over the mind and heart. 
_(¢) The Apostle Paul distinctly declares the 
partial, provisional, and temporary nature of that 
which he teaches. Having said (I Corinthians 
2: 10-16) that he is inspired and led by the Spirit 
to know and to speak Christian truth, he adds, in 
the same Epistle (I Corinthians 13: 8-12), that 
all knowledge, so far as we are able to state it, is 
partial. relative, and incomplete, and will be done 
away. 


20 


MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 
The Word of God 


It sounds along the ages, 
Soul answering to soul; 

It kindles on the pages 
Of every Bible scroll; 

The Psalmists heard and sang it, 
From martyr-lips it broke, 

And prophet-tongues outrang it 
Till sleeping nations woke. 


It dates each new ideal,— 
Itself it knows not time; 
Man’s laws but catch the music 
Of its eternal chime. 
It calls—and lo, new Justice! 
It speaks—and lo, new Truth! 
In ever nobler stature 
And unexhausted youth. 


It everywhere arriveth; 
Recks not of small and great; 
It shapes the unborn atom, 
It tells the sun its fate. 
The wing-beat of archangel 
Its boundary never nears; 
Forever on it soundeth 
The music of the spheres! 
F’RepERIcK L. Hosmer 


THE BIBLE 21 


QUESTIONS 


12. What does the Bible contain? How does it bring 
us near to God? Do other books than the Bible also 
help us to feel near to him? 

13. What is inspiration? Is the lasting and noble 
effect of inspiration a test of its truth? 

14. Is the Bible also a natural book? Does it 
contain only good thoughts and tell only of good 
men? What does ‘‘fallible’? mean? Are all parts of 
the Bible of equal value? What passages do you like 
best? Are they the same you preferred when a little 
child ? 

15. Are there also errors and contradictions in the 
Bible? What does a comparison of dates and state- 
ments in different books prove? Is the real value of the 
Bible thereby lessened ? 

16. What is the canon of the Old Testament? of the 
New Testament? How was each formed? What is the 
real value of the Bible for us? 

17. Is all the moral and religious teaching of the 
Bible of the same importance? What is meant by 
‘‘moral’’ and ‘‘religious’’? Can you be moral without 
being religious? Which is the larger term? Have Uni- 
tarians always laid special stress on the need of morality ? 
State distinctly the difference between plenary or in- 
fallible inspiration and inspiration. Have many na- 
tions their own Bibles? Are they of value to us? Does 
our own Bible lessen or gain in value because of the 
Unitarian view regarding it? 


22 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


REFERENCES 


PAMPHLETS 


A. U. A. 69. Crawford H. Toy. Modern Biblical 

Criticism. 

es 85. William W. Fenn. The Bible in The- 
ology. 

oS, 160. J. T. Sunderland. Is the Bible In- 
fallible? 

a 208. Henry Wilder Foote. The Bible in the 
Inght of Modern Thought. 

i 237. J. A. Cruzan. The Bible from the 
Inberal Christian Point of View. 


Books 


Sunderland, J. T. The Origin and Character of the 
Bible. The Beacon Press, Inc., 1908. 

Bailey, Albert E. and Kent, Charles F. The Hebrew 
Commonwealth. Scribner, N. Y., 1920. 

Pierce, Ulysses G. B. The Soul of the Bible. The 
Beacon Press, Inc., 1908. 

Penniman, J. H. A Book about the English Bible. 
Macmillan, N. Y., 1919. 

Peabody, Francis G. The Apostle Paul and the Mod- 
ern World. Macmillan, 1923. 

Saunderson, Henry Hallam. The Living Word: 
The Bible Abridged. The Century Co., N. Y., 1924. 


LESSON VI 
GOD 


Acts 17:28. In Him we live, and move, and 
have our being. , 


18. Unitarians believe that God is one; that 
his highest attribute is love, and that his best 
name is ‘‘Father.’’ The New Testament con- 
firms this thought. It was the belief of Jesus 
and of the early Christians. For example— 

(a) As regards umty. 

Mark 12:29: Jesus answered, ‘‘The first of 
all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; the 
Lord our God, the Lord is one’’; I Corinthians 
8:6: ‘*To us there is one God, the Father.”’’ 
Galatians 3:20: ‘‘God is one.’”? Ephesians 4:6: 
‘One God and Father of all.’’ 

(b) That this one God is the Father. 

John 17:3: Jesus, praying to the Father, 
says, ‘‘This is life eternal, that they should know 
thee, THE ONLY TRUE Gop, and him whom thou 
didst send, even Jesus Christ.’?’ John 10:29: 
‘‘My Father, who hath given them unto me, is 
GREATER THAN ALL.’’ John 14:28: ‘‘I go unto 
the Father; for the Father is greater than I.’’ 

23 


24 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


(c) That God the Father is almighty, ommni- 
present, and omniscient. 

Acts 17:27: God is not far from each one of 
us; for in him we live, and move, and have our 
being.’? I Corinthians 8:6: ‘‘One God, the 
Father, oF WHOM ARE ALL THINGS.’’ I Corinthians 
15:28: ‘*‘And when all things have been sub- 
jected unto him, then shall the Son also him- 
self be subjected to him that did subject all things 
unto him, THAT GOD MAY BE ALL IN ALL.’’ Romans 
11:36: ‘‘For of him, and through him, and to 
him are all things.’’ Ephesians 4:6: ‘‘Who is 
above all, and through all, and in you all.’’ 

(d) That God ts essentially love, and that he 
loves all his creatures, both bad and good. 

I John 4:16: ‘‘God is love, and he that dwell- 
eth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.’’ 
Matthew 5:44, 45: ‘‘Love your enemies. . 
that ye may be the children of your Father which 
is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the 
evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just 
and on the unjust.’? I John 4:8: ‘‘He that 
loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.’’ 

19. Unitarians believe that this thought of God 
is also confirmed by the best thought of our day. 
Our modern thought has not made any advance 
on the statement that ‘‘God is a Spirit.’’ Asa 
spiritual Being he appeals not merely to our 
minds and hearts, but to our whole nature. We 
find an element of purpose in evolution, a mind 


GOD 25 


back of all law that conceived law, and a will that 
it fulfilled. And because we feel this power of 
mind and heart and will, appealing to our own 
minds and hearts, worship becomes possible and 
prayer a reality. For the finite mind can 
communicate with the Infinite Mind, and God 
becomes not the Unknowable but the infinitely 
Knowable. Because we think of him as a spirit- 
ual being, rather than as a supernatural being, 
fear gives place to love. The love of God 
towards us is manifested not in taking away sor- 
row, or making life easy, or abolishing evil, but 
in the fact that in each event of life we may turn 
to him and find in him a source of power to help 
us to heroic endurance or achievement. He sum- 
mons us to put forth our whole power. That is 
what Jesus demanded in his first Commandment: 
‘<Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy 
heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy mind, 
and with all thy strength.’’ 


The Thought of God 


One thought I have, my ample creed, 
So deep it is and broad, 

And equal to my every need,— 
It is the thought of God. 


Hach morn unfolds some fresh surprise, 
I feast at life’s full board; 


26 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


And rising in my inner skies 
Shines forth the thought of God. 


At night my gladness is my prayer; 
I drop my daily load, 

And every care is pillowed there 
Upon the thought of God. 


I ask not far before to see, 
But take in trust my road; 

Life, death, and immortality 
Are in my thought of God. 


To this their secret strength they owed 
The martyr’s path who trod; 

The fountains of their patience flowed 
From out their thought of God. 


Be still the light upon my way, 
My pilgrim staff and rod, 
My rest by night, my strength by day, 
O blesséd thought of God. 
Freperick Luctan Hosmer, 1880. 


QUESTIONS 


18. Why is God’s best name ‘‘Father’’? Who first 
called him by that name? What was the Jewish idea 
of God? Is our idea of God unchangeable? What was 
your first idea? what is your present? what is the high- 


GOD 27 


est? Why do we like to use the Bible words in describ- 
ing him? In learning Jesus’ thought about God do we 
also learn what he thought about his own relation to 
God? What did he mean by ‘‘life eternal’’? Which 
text of those given seems to you the plainest concerning 
the unity of God? Besides the Bible, what other evi- 
dences have we of the existence of God? Does science 
help to prove a God? Is God in the infinitely small as 
well as in the infinitely great things of nature? Would 
the Bible alone be sufficient evidence of his existence 
without the confirmation of science and philosophy? 
What does evolution teach you about God? Why is God 
essentially love? How does a loving disposition bring 
us near to God? Do you ever use any other name for 
God than Father? 

19. In what respects does the Unitarian idea of God 
differ from the older so-called Orthodox idea? Is 
evolution the product of chance, or the fulfilment of a 
purpose? Does law imply a mind that conceived it? 
What makes worship possible? Do you think of God 
as Unknowable or Knowable? Why? Do pleasure and 
sorrow or the mastery of pleasure and sorrow better 
measure the value of life? What is the first Command- 
ment of Jesus? 


REFERENCES 


PAMPHLETS 


A. U. A. 68. Samuel R. Calthrop. God. 
iis 90. Minot J. Savage. The Modern Concep- 
tion of God. 


28 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


A. U. A. 107. Charles F. Dole. The Consciousness of 
God. 

i 264. William C. Gannett. The Sparrow’s 
Fall. 


Books 


Sunderland, J.T. Because Men are not Stones. The 
Beacon Press, Inc., 1923. 

Armstrong, Richard A. God and the Soul. The 
Beacon Press, Inc., 1907. 

Ferguson, G. A. How a Modern Atheist Found God. 
The Beacon Press, Inc., 1912. 

Hosmer, Frederick L. and Gannett, William C. The 
Thought of God in Hymns and Poems. The Beacon 
Press, Inc., 1885. 


LESSON VII 
THE TRINITY 


I Corinthians 8:6. To us there is one God, the 
Father. 


20. The doctrine of the Trinity, as stated in 
the creeds of all the so-called Orthodox churches, 
is this: that there are three persons in the God- 
head—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost— 
and that these three are one God, the same in 
substance, equal in power and glory, but distin- 
guished by personal properties. The Athanasian 
Creed is the most distinct formula of this doc- 
trine. It says: ‘‘The Catholic faith is this— 
that we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity 
in Unity, neither confounding the persons nor 
dividing the substance. For there is one person 
of the Father, another of the Son, and another of 
the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, 
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost is all one; 
the glory equal, the majesty co-eternal.’’ This 
doctrine teaches that the Father is God, the Son 
is God, and the Holy Ghost is God; and yet there 
are not three Gods, but one God. Each may be 


worshipped separately. Each has a_ separate 
29 


30 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


work and office, which must not be confounded 
with that of the others; for that would be the 
heresy of Sabellius, who confounded the persons. 
But we must not say that they are three persons, 
like Peter, James, and John; for that would be 
dividing the substance, which is another fatal 
heresy. 

21. Unitarians reject the Church doctrine of 
the Trinity— 

(a) Because it 1s unintelligible. 

Although many attempts have been made to 
explain it, none have proved satisfactory. It 
therefore remains, even by the admission of its 
advocates, a mystery; and a mystery is something 
unintelligible, and therefore cannot be an object 
of belief. 

(b) Because the doctrine of the Trinity is no- 
where plainly taught in the New Testament. 

This is admitted by many candid Trinitarians. 
Thus, Neander, a Trinitarian, says of this doc- 
trine: ‘‘It is expressly held forth in no one par- 
ticular passage of the New Testament.’’ (Church 
History, Torrey’s translation, vol. 1. p. 572.) 
Many such testimonies might be adduced. 

(c) Because the texts quoted in support of the 
Trimty are madequate or irrelevant. 

The famous text of the Three Witnesses has 
been shown so convincingly to be an interpola- 
tion, that it has been rejected by most Trinita- 
rians and omitted in the Revised Version. The 


THE TRINITY 31 


Baptismal Formula (Matthew 28:19) and the 
Benediction (II Corinthians 13:14) are passages 
often brought forward as proofs of the Trinity. 
But in neither of them is it stated that the Son is 
God, or that the Holy Spirit is a person, or that 
these three are the one supreme God. That these 
passages should be constantly quoted as proofs of 
the doctrine of the Trinity shows that no real 
proof-texts of the doctrine can be found in the 
New Testament. They may seem to imply it to 
one who already believes that doctrine; but to 
those who do not already believe it they appear 
as a summary of the truth which proceeds from 
the Father, the only true God—through Jesus 
Christ, the mediator of his love—and made part 
of the soul and life by the inward influence of 
the Divine Spirit. 

(d) Because there are many texts m the New 
Testament plainly opposed to the doctrine of the 
Trinity. 

Such are the texts in which the Father is called 
the one or only God; which could not be said if 
the Son is also God, and the Holy Spirit God. 
I Corinthians 8:5, 6: ‘‘For though there be that 
are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, 
(as these are gods many and lords many), but 
to us there is one God, the Father.’’ Ephesians 
4:6: ‘‘One God and Father of all, who is above 
all, and through all, and in you all.’’ John 17:3: 
Jesus prays to the Father, saying, ‘‘Father! the 


32 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


hour is come!’’ and immediately adds, ‘‘This is 
life eternal, that they might know thee the only 
true God.’’ Ephesians 5:20: The Apostle di- 
rects the Ephesians to give ‘‘thanks always, for 
all things, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
to God, even the Father.”’ 

If the Son were God, and the Holy Ghost God, 
it would be our duty to pray to them also. But 
all prayers are commanded to be addressed to the 
Father. See Matthew 6:9. 

(e) Because we know when and where the doc- 
trine of the Trimty began, and how tt gradually 
took form. 

In the famous Proem to his Gospel John op- 
poses the idea that the Logos, or Word, was any- 
thing different from God himself. The Word, 
he tells us, is God speaking, first, in creation— 
‘“By him,’’ God speaking, ‘‘ were all things made.’’ 
He refers here, no doubt, to the common phrases 
of the Old Testament—God said, ‘‘Let there be 
light’’; ‘‘The Word of the Lord came to Isaiah’’; 
etc. Secondly, the Word is God speaking in the 
soul—‘‘ That was the true light which lighteth 
every man that cometh into the world.’’? Thirdly, 
the Word is God revealed in Jesus—‘‘The Word 
was made flesh and dwelt among. us.’’ He thus 
teaches that as God speaks in creation and speaks 
in the human reason, he also speaks in Jesus 
more clearly and fully. But, as if to obviate 
the possibility of being understood to say that 


THE TRINITY 33 


Christ was God when he really says that God is 
in Christ, he adds, ‘‘No man hath seen God at any 
time.’’ 

This conception of Christ as a Logos, or Word 
of God, or a revelation of God, continued to be 
taught down to the time of the Synod of Nice 
(a.p. 325). The Apostles’ Creed was not written 
by the Apostles, but in its substance it goes back 
to a very early Christian period. It contains no 
trace of the doctrine of the Trinity. It calls God 
‘“‘the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and 
earth.’’ The Nicene Creed, in its original form, 
knows nothing of the Trinity. It calls Jesus 
God, ‘‘but makes his divinity derived and de- 
pendent.’’ It was not till the year 380, after much 
controversy and party strife, that the doctrine of 
the Trinity was established in the Church. In 
the year 383 Theodosius the Emperor threatened 
to punish all who did not accept this doctrine. 


The Lord of All 


Sing forth his high eternal name 
Who holds all powers in thrall, 

Through endless ages still the same,— 
The mighty Lord of all. 

His goodness, strong and measureless, 
Upholds us lest we fall; 

His hand is still outstretched to bless,— 
The loving Lord of all. 


34 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


His perfect law sets metes and bounds, 
Our strong defense and wall; 

His providence our life surrounds,— 
The saving Lord of all. 

He every thought and every deed 
Doth to his judgment call; 

O may our hearts obedient heed 
The righteous God of all. 


When, turning from forbidden ways, 
Low at his feet we fall, 
His strong and tender arms upraise,— 
The pardoning Lord of all. 
Unwearied he is working still, 
Unspent his blessings fall, 
Almighty, loving, righteous One, 
The only Lord of all. 
SaMvuEL LONGFELLOW. 


QUESTIONS 


20. What is the most distinct formula of the Trinita- 
rian creed? State it. Do the Trinitarians whom you 
know believe exactly that, or some modification of it? 
Why is it called Athanasian Creed? Who was the op- 
poser of Athanasius? Who was emperor at that time? 
In what century was the Athanasian Creed adopted? 
Do you understand it? What do other people mean by 
it? Can you put it into words of your own, and yet 
keep sense in the words? 


THE TRINITY 30 


21. Why do Unitarians reject the doctrine of the 
Trinity? Can you believe what you do not under- 
stand? What does the phrase ‘‘reason in religion”’ 
mean? Should you reason about a passage in Scripture 
just as you would about a passage in any other book? 
What does Neander say about this doctrine? What 
famous text is interpolated? Do the Baptismal For- 
mula and the Benediction state the doctrine of the Trin- 
ity? Must prejudice in favor of an opinion exclude ex- 
amination of the grounds for belief? What texts prove 
the unity of God? To whom should we pray? Can 
you trace the growth of the doctrine of the Trinity? 
What were the three ways in which John said that God 
revealed himself? What was the Logos? When and 
what was the Synod of Nice? What is the Nicene 
Creed? Has the Apostles’ Creed any hint of the Trin- 
ity? Do not many Trinitarians therefore acknowledge 
that the doctrine of the Trinity is only a Church doc- 
trine? In what year was it finally established ? 


REFERENCES 


PAMPHLETS 


A. U. A. 89. James Martineau. The Three Stages of 
Umtarian Theology. 
‘ 108. Howard N. Brown. Father, Son, and 
Holy Spirit. 
hE 123. Herbert H. Mott. God or Man? 
oy 135. J.T. Sunderland. Was Jesus God? 


BooxK 


Clarke, James F. Orthodoxy: its Truths and Errors. 
The Beacon Press, Inc., 1890. 


LESSON VIII 
JESUS CHRIST 


John 14:6. I am the Way, and the Truth and 
the Life. 


22. Unitarians believe that Jesus was a man, 
human in soul and body, born like other human 
beings and sharing the common destiny of all 
men. Unitarians believe that to attribute to 
Jesus supernatural powers is to rob him of the 
power of example. They believe that all men 
may grow up into the stature of Jesus: that his 
power lay in his spiritual and moral nature: that 
his true greatness was in his devotion to the 
service of God, his sympathy with humanity, his 
manliness and fidelity under all conditions, his 
readiness for all kinds of service and his courage 
in great suffering. 

To Unitarians Jesus was a divine man, not a 
human God, and in so far as men are, like him, 
of Godlike nature, they also are divine. Paul 
wrote of the followers of Jesus, ‘‘Know ye not 
that ye are a temple of God, and that the Spirit 
of God dwelleth in you?’’ All the experiences of 


Jesus reveal the intimate union of his soul with 
36 


JESUS CHRIST 37 


the Infinite Spirit, an intimacy which he desired 
to communicate to all his fellow-creatures. The 
Scripture teaches that (1) all that Jesus had, he 
received from God; and (2) that all he received, 
he received in order to impart it to his fellow- 
men. 

23. Unitarians therefore believe in Jesus as a 
man raised up to be the interpreter, inspirer and 
transmitter of the divine life to his fellow-men; 
but they do not believe that he was God— 

(a) Because Jesus is always represented as 
speaking of himself as a man, and 1s always so 
spoken of in the New Testament. 

(b) Because we find no account in Scripture 
that a revelation of his deity was ever made to 
the disciples. 

When Jesus said, ‘‘I and my Father are 
one’’ (John 10:30), he meant one in sympathy, 
not in essence; since he prayed (John 17:11) 
that his disciples might be one even as he 
and the Father were one. He certainly could 
not have intended to ask that his disciples might 
be one in essence. 

They regarded their Master as a man, but wiser 
and better than themselves. We should surely 
have found in the New Testament some trace of 
the astonishment and awe which must have come 
upon them if the wonderful fact had been com- 
municated to them that their Master was the 
Supreme God. 


38 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


(c) Because we find no opposition made by the 
Jews to ths doctrine. 

Nothing could have seemed more abhorrent to 
the Jewish mind than to be told that Jesus was 
the Supreme Jehovah. On one occasion they 
falsely bring the charge that Jesus, being a man, 
made himself God (John 10:33). Jesus, instead 
of saying, ‘‘Yes! I am God,’’ answers-by quot- 
ing a passage in the Old Testament, where those 
to whom the word of God came were called gods, 
and then says that he had only called himself 
the Son of God. After this no such charge was 
made by the Jews. We find many accusations 
made against the Apostles, but they are never 
charged with calling their Master the Supreme 
God. They were only commanded not to teach 
in the name of Jesus (Acts 4:18, 5: 40). 

(d) Because Jesus DG distanguatlen him- 
self from God. 

See John 13:3, 16:27; Mark 10:18; Matthew 
2:46; John 173 7. 

(e) Because God 1s called the God of Jesus 
Christ. | 

See II Corinthians 11:31; Ephesians 1:3, 17; 
Romans 15:6; I Peter 1:3; Hebrews 1: 2, 9. 

({) Because the Scriptures teach that there is 
one God, who is distinct from the Christ. 

See I Corinthians 8:6; I Timothy 2:5; 
Ephesians 4: 5, 6. 


JESUS CHRIST 39 


(g) Because the highest powers and glory 
ascribed to Christ are said to be given to him by 
God. 

See Philippians 2:9; Colossians 1:19; Acts 
2:36, 3:13, 5:31; Matthew 28:18; John 5:19; 
Ephesians 1: 22; ete. 

(h) Because Jesus himself teaches his sub- 
ordination to God. 

See John 14:28; Matthew 20:23; Mark 13:32; 
John 10: 29. 

(i) Because Jesus prayed to God. 

See Luke 6:12; Matthew 11:25; Luke 22: 42; 
Hebrews 5: 7. 

(j) Because he commands us to pray, not to 
himself, but to God. 

See John 4: 23, 16:23; Luke 11:1, 2. 


The way, the truth, the life. 


O thou great friend to all the sons of men, 
Who once appeared in humblest guise below, 
Sin to rebuke, to break the captive’s chain, 
And eall thy brethren forth from want and 
woe! 


We look to thee: thy truth is still the light 
Which guides the nations, groping on their way, 
Stumbling and falling in disastrous night, 
Yet hoping ever for the perfect day. 


40 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


Yes: thou art still the life; thou art the way 
The holiest know Res life, and nsec of 
heaven; 
And they ue dearest hope, and deepest pray, 
Toil by the light, life, way, which thou hast 
given. 
THEopoRE Parker, 1846. 


QUESTIONS 


22. Do Unitarians consider Jesus as a finite being? 
Was he a human being? made like ourselves? In what 
sense is Jesus the ideal man? What is the difference 
between the ideal Christ and the historic Jesus? In 
what did his reai greatness consist? What is the dif- 
ference between the divinity of Jesus and the deity of 
Jesus? Which way of regarding him would make him 
of most help to you? What did Jesus mean by saying, 
‘‘T and my Father are one’’? Are we not sons of God, 
and at times one with him? Can you hope to grow like 
him ? 

23. How did Jesus speak of himself? How did the 
disciples regard him? What is the difference between 
belief in Jesus and belief about him? 


REFERENCES 


PAMPHLETS 


A. U. A. 47. Stopford A. Brooke. What Think Ye 
of Christ? 


JESUS CHRIST 4] 


AsO. As 77. Thomas’ Lie? Eliot. “Is: not. This 
Joseph’s Son??? 
ie: 128. Alexander T. Bowser. The Divinity of 
Christ. 
+ 209. Ulysses G. B. Pierce. Divine Because 
Human. 
ve 213. J. Estlin Carpenter. The Jesus of the 
Gospels and the Jesus of History. 
R. F. N. A. 9. Abraham M. Rihbany. Jesus and His 
Place in Unitarian Thought. 


Books 


Carpenter, J. Hstlin. The Historical Jesus and the 
Theological Christ. The Beacon Press, Inc., 1911. 

Rihbany, Abraham M. The Syrian Christ. Hough- 
ton, Mifflin Co., 1916. 

Crooker, J. H. The Supremacy of Jesus. The 
Beacon Press, Inc., 1904. 

Peabody, Francis G. Jesus Christ and the Christian 
Character. Doran, 1904. 


LESSON IX 
THE THACHING OF JESUS 


Philippians 2:5. Have this mind in you, which 
was also in Christ Jesus. 


24. As Unitarians believe that Jesus was a 
man it does not trouble them that some of his 
ideas, like the expectation that the end of the 
world was near, were mistaken. Jesus shared 
in many respects the opinions of his day, and 
some of his precepts had an oriental coloring 
which makes it impossible for us to accept them 
literally. The value of his teachings lies in their 
spiritual validity. They summoned the finest 
qualities in the disciples to hasten, by their 
service, the coming of the Kingdom of God, and 
the parables in wonderful word pictures brought 
home to the disciples the nature of that kingdom. 
In his teachings he emphasized the nobler and 
more abundant life of the individual. There was 
little new in his teachings, but his disciples found 
in them the possibilities of a life with God through 
loving obedience and neighborly service. The 
emphasis that Jesus placed was not on outward 


profession, but on the need of doing the will of 
42 


THE TEACHING OF JESUS 43 


God. He made heavy demands on his disciples. 
He demanded that his teachings be embodied in 
life. 

25. Unitarians believe that the four Gospels 
contain an adequate historical account of the life, 
teaching and character of Jesus. The first three, 
because they present a similar point of view, 
are called the Synoptic Gospels, and because 
written earlier than the Fourth are referred to 
for the most accurate account of the life and teach- 
ings of Jesus. The Fourth Gospel represents 
a later tradition and philosophy and it is written 
to prove a theory. But they all show that the 
power of the truth Jesus taught was subordinate 
to the power he was. The disciples could not 
always understand his teaching but they always 
felt the power of his spiritual authority. 

26. The primary value of the truth of Jesus 
lies in the great purpose that ennobled it. Many 
in every walk of life have felt the power of that 
statement in the Fourth Gospel: ‘‘To this end 
am I come into the world, that I should bear 
witness unto the truth,’’ and they have felt, in 
every field of labor and in all their relations with 
others, they might in the spirit of Jesus bear 
witness to the truth. 

There are many sayings of Jesus inexpressibly 
dear to the hearts of men. The Beatitudes and 
the Golden Rule, the need of letting the light 
within shine, the emphasis on purity of heart, 


44 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


the warning to avoid even the intention of evil, 
the request to do more than the law requires, the 
warning against hypocrisy, the command to seek 
first the Kingdom of God, the testing of life 
by its fruits, the ideal of the strong man who built 
his house upon the rock—these and many more 
show the close connection of his teaching with 
life, and every one who stands firm in his loyalty 
to God is obeying his teachings. 


Christ in the city 


‘Where cross the crowded ways of life, 
Where sound the cries of race and clan, 
Above the noise of selfish strife, 
We hear thy voice, O Son of Man. 


In haunts of wretchedness and need, | 
On shadowed thresholds dark with fears, 
From paths where hide the lures of greed, 
We catch the vision of thy tears. 


From tender childhood’s helplessness, 
From woman’s grief, man’s burdened toil, 
From famished souls, from sorrow’s stress, 
Thy heart has never known recoil. 


The cup of water given for thee 
Still holds the freshness of thy grace; 


THE TEACHING OF JESUS 45 


Yet long these multitudes to see 
The sweet compassion of thy face. 


O Master, from the mountain side, 

Make haste to heal these hearts of pain; 
Among these restless throngs abide, 

O tread the city’s streets again; 


Till sons of men shall learn thy love, 
And follow where thy feet have trod; 
Till glorious from thy heaven above, 
Shall come the City of our God. 
Frank Mason Norra, 1905. 


QUESTIONS 


24. Do you believe the sayings of Jesus merely be- 
cause he uttered them? Should we expect a man who 
lived two thousand years ago to know and express truth 
that would solve our modern problems? Is his solution 
of his problems necessarily the solution of ours? What 
is the real value of his teachings? What was their 
central idea? What was he striving for? What new 
vista of life did he open for his disciples? Where did 
he place the emphasis in individual life? 

25. How does the Fourth Gospel differ from the 
other three? What do all four show? 

26. What is the primary value of his truth for us? 
What are your favorite sayings of Jesus? What help 
have you received from them? 


46 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


REFERENCES 


PAMPHLETS 


A. U. A. 70. Brooke Herford. The Mind of Christ. 
My 184. Julian C. Jaynes. The Place of Jesus 
in the Religion of To-day. 
ve 222. Frederic H. Kent. Seeing Jesus. 
a 299. Clayton R. Bowen. Why are Unttarians 
Disciples of Jesus? 


Booxks 


Toy, Crawford H. Judaism and Christiamty.  Lit- 
tle, Brown & Co., 1890. 
King, Henry C. The Hthics of Jesus. Macmillan, 
1909. | 

Kent, Charles F. and Jenks, J. W. Jesus’ Principles 
of Living. Scribner, 1920. 

Bowen, Clayton R. The Gospel of Jesus. The Bea- 
con Press, Inc., 1916. | 

Carpenter, J. Estlin. The First Three Gospels. Lon- 
don Sunday School Assoc., 1890. 


LESSON X 
THE WORK OF JESUS 


John 1:4. In him was life; and the life was 
the light of men. 


27. Unitarians believe that Jesus felt himself to 
be sent to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10): 
to give rest to the weary and heavy laden (Mat- 
thew 11:28): to carry up to a higher morality 
the law of duty (Matthew 5:18, 20, 21, 27, 33, 39, 
44): to sacrifice himself for the good of others 
(Matthew 20:28): to preach good news to the 
poor, freedom to the captives, sight to the blind, 
and comfort to the sorrowing (Luke 4:18, 7: 22): 
to reveal the Fatherly love of God (Matthew 
11:27). Among Unitarians there are differing 
explanations of these texts; but all agree that the 
essential mission of Jesus is to make men better, 
wiser, and happier in this world and the next. 

28. Unitarians find a different emphasis in the 
work of Jesus than others find. Conservative 
Christians believe the chief work of Jesus was to 
save men from sin, but Unitarians believe it 
was to inspire men to lead useful and honorable 


lives. Men were to build or hasten the coming 
47 


48 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


of the Kingdom of God through righteousness, 
and religion is not merely a remedy to cure a 
- diseased soul but also a power to develop the 
strength men already have. The chief work of 
Jesus was not to keep men out of the kingdom 
of Satan, but to make them worthy members of 
the Kingdom of God. 

29. Jesus did this work through his teaching, 
his life and his sufferings. His teaching shows 
us that right and wrong are rooted in the nature 
of man and in the laws which he obeys, and he 
states the laws of moral consequence in human 
life. ‘‘Whosoever shall exalt himself shall be 
humbled; and whosoever shall humble himself 
shall be exalted.’’ ‘‘Blessed are the pure in 
heart, for they shall see God.’’ With what judg- 
ment ye judge ye shall be judged.’’ ‘‘Every 
good tree bringeth forth good fruit.’’ ‘‘Not 
every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall 
enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that 
doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven.’’ 
In all such passages Jesus is stating the work- 
ing of everlasting laws. 

30. The life of Jesus reveals the power of a 
life given to the service of man and God. He 
went about doing good. The most wretched were 
not beyond the bounds of his compassion. He 
welcomed children and ministered to all sorts and 
conditions of men. He ministered to the physical 
as well as to the intellectual and spiritual needs 


THE WORK OF JESUS 49 


of men. He had some power of healing, though 
its methods are not clearly revealed. Unita- 
rians generally however do not believe in mir- 
acles. A miracle is something that excites 
wonder. The deepest wonder comes from knowl- 
edge rather than from ignorance. The world is 
a source of wonder. The flower is a miracle. 
Life is a miracle. But this is not the sense in 
which this word is used in the New Testament 
and in church history. There it refers to a power 
within man to rise superior to the laws of nature, 
as the water, we are told, under the influence of 
Jesus, became wine. We do not find that as man 
becomes more spiritual he attains this power, and 
many Unitarians look upon the miracles as 
legendary additions to the Gospels, and there- 
fore care little for them. They do not believe 
that Christianity depends on them, and they 
prefer to emphasize the spiritual power of Jesus 
—the power that came from communion with God, 
that sent him forth in service, enabled him to 
reveal the divine in the human, and drew, has 
drawn and will draw men unto him and inspire 
them to grow more and more into his likeness. 
Unitarians do not believe that any form of 
spiritual healing exists wholly apart from phys- 
ical. They believe that mind and body help soul, 
and soul helps mind and body, but they demand 
that all three as far as possible should work to- 
gether. True Christianity demands our care for 


50 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


body, mind and soul, that man may be a sturdy 
messenger of God. That, we believe, was the 
service of Jesus. 

31. Jesus also helped men through his suffer- 
ings. He teaches others effectively because he 
lived what he taught, and without the power of 
the Cross Christianity could not have survived. 
Unitarians attach a spiritual rather than a 
doctrinal meaning to it. It is for them an in- 
spiration to self-mastery and religious aspira- 
tion rather than an assurance that the world was 
saved from sin and its consequences. It was the 
act by which the world was won to his teaching 
and his life. 


Our Brother Christ 


We bear the strain of earthly care, 
But bear it not alone; 

Beside us walks our brother Christ 
And makes our task his own. 


Through din of market, whirl of wheels, 
And thrust of driving trade, 

We follow where the Master leads, 
Serene and unafraid. 


The common hopes that make us men 
Were his in Galilee; 


THE WORK OF JESUS ol 


The tasks he gives are those he gave 
Beside the restless sea. 


Our brotherhood still rests in him, 
The Brother of us all, 
And o’er the centuries still we hear 
The Master’s winsome call. 
Ozora Stearns Davis, 1909. 


QUESTIONS 


27. In what general ideas concerning the work of 
Jesus do all agree? What Bible verses express these 
ideas? Do you think you are any happier or better 
because of Jesus’ life? Why is it that wickedness, 
misery, war, still exist? State in your own words what 
you think Jesus wanted to do for the world. How far 
do you think he accomplished it? 

28. What was the chief work of Jesus? Is it wiser 
and kinder in Jesus to have worked only to make men 
better in this life? If better in this life, will they neces- 
sarily be better hereafter? Must we try to do what is 
right now? Shall we then be happy now or by and by? 

29. What are the three ways in which Jesus helps us? 
What sayings of Jesus show he believed in the neces- 
sary moral consequences of right and wrong? Why do 
we say moral consequences? Does not evil-doing some- 
times seem to succeed for a little while? Does it ever 
have even worldly success in the end? 

30. How does the life of Jesus supplement his teach- 
ing, and what does his life prove about our own capac- 


52 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


ities? Is goodness a reality that can be obtained? Is 
there any point at which to stop in being good? Is it 
easy to try to be like Jesus? Is it easy to be really like 
him? Would it have been easier centuries ago than it 
isnow? Are we to imitate his example exactly? What 
are we then to do? Is it not his spirit as shown in his 
life that we should imitate? 

What is the Unitarian attitude toward the miracles? 
Do you think they are important? Does Christianity 
depend on them? 

What is the relation between the physical and the 
spiritual? What is mental healing? Is it ever alone 
effective ? 

31. What is the power of the Cross? What meaning 
do Unitarians attach to it? Which word seems to you 
best to describe Jesus, Teacher, Brother, Master or Man 
of sorrows? Does your attitude toward him depend on 
which word you use? | 


REFERENCES 


PAMPHLETS 


A. U. A. 79. Howard N. Brown. The Real Jesus. 
hg 233. J. T. Sunderland. Miracles in the 
Inght of Modern Knowledge. 


Books © 


Peabody, Francis G. Jesus Christ and the Soctal 
Question. Macmillan, 1900. 

Davis, Horace. The Public Ministry of Jesus. The 
Beacon Press, Inc., 1911. 


LESSON XI 
THE HOLY SPIRIT 


Galatians 5:22. The fruit of the Spirit is love, 
joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, 
faithfulness, meekness, self-control. 


32. Unitarians believe that the Holy Spirit is 
not a separate person in the Godhead, but the 
influence of God’s spirit on the human soul, to 
give strength, peace, light, love. It is said to be 
poured out, shed abroad, given, ete.; which ex- 
pressions apply to an influence, but not to a 
person. 

33. Unitarians believe this influence to be given 
by aconstant operation, wherever the human heart 
is prepared and ready to receive it. Therefore 
Christians are told to ‘‘live in the Spirit,’’ to 
‘‘walk in the Spirit,’’ and the Spirit is said to 
‘“dwellinthem.’’ Itis given not only to Prophets 
and Apostles, to saints and martyrs, but to all 
who desire help to lead better lives. 

34. The difference between the influence of the 
Spirit of God and other influences which come 
from him is this—that whereas the others come 


to us from without, through nature, events, and 
53 


54 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


our fellow-men, the influence of the Spirit is God 
speaking to us within the soul. We commune 
with God outwardly through his works and 
through the events of our earthly life. We com- 
mune with Him inwardly when we are by our- 
selves, and when in the secret chamber of our 
hearts we lift up our thoughts and wishes to our 
Heavenly Father. 

35. The Holy Spirit is that which makes all 
people, races and religions one, however different 
they may appear. It is that unity which is be- 
hind all diversity. That is why it is a revelation 
of God himself. All humanity shares it. It is 
there beyond all that seems to separate us. 
Sympathy is the first approach to it, but love is 
the realization of it. The Holy Spirit is at the 
heart of the world and they only know it who 
bring their hearts to it. — 


Inspiration 


Life of ages, richly poured, 
Love of God, unspent and free, 
Flowing in the prophet’s word 
And the people’s hberty,— 


Never was to chosen race 

That unstinted tide confined; 
Thine is every time and place 
Fountain sweet of heart and mind. 


THE HOLY SPIRIT 55 


Breathing in the thinker’s creed 
Pulsing in the hero’s blood, 

Nerving simplest thought and deed, 
Freshening time with truth and good, 


Consecrating art and song, 
Holy book and pilgrim track, 
Hurling floods of tyrant wrong 
From the sacred limits back,— 


Life of ages, richly poured, 
Love of God, unspent and free, 
Flow still in the prophet’s word 
And the people’s liberty. 
SAMUEL JoHNsoN, 1864. 


QUESTIONS 


32. Is the Holy Spirit a separate person in the God- 
head? What is it? What are the words used about it 
which show that it is an influence? 

33. How is this influence given? Do some people 
think it depends upon arbitrary or miraculous causes, 
or that God gives it only to certain persons? When 
do we think it comes to us? Must we prepare ourselves 
for it? How can we do that? Is it given to us all? 
Have you ever seen people in whose faces it shines, and 
have you heard it in their voices? What is your own 
word for Holy Spirit? Don’t you know it when you see 
it in some little child who is sick and patient, or brave 


56 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


in danger? Does it not always inspire respect? If 
we are told to ‘‘walk in the Spirit,’’ does it not show 
that it is an every-day holy possession ? 

34. What is the difference between the influence of 
the Spirit of God and other influences coming from Him ? 
Does such spirit within us grow by communion? Does 
our own spirit influence that of our friends? Does 
God’s spirit influence us in a similar way? Does it give 
the best and deepest happiness to feel the influence of 
God is over us, and through it we may help others? 

35. What most separates us from others? What best 
unites us? What best enables us to realize unity? 


REFERENCES 


PAMPHLETS 


A. U. A. 1388. Edward H. Hale. Father, Son, and 
Holy Spirit. 
ee 180. Charles F. Dole. Our Thought of God. 
—God Within Us. 
ie 202. Edward E. Hale. The Real Presence. 


Books 


Jones, Rufus M. The World Within. Macmillan, 
1918. 

Jones, Rufus M. Spiritual Energies in Daily Lafe. 
Maemillan, 1922. 

‘Underhill, Evelyn. The Life of the Spirit and the 
Life of To-day. Dutton, 1922. 


LESSON XII 
THE NATURE OF MAN 


Romans 8:19. For the earnest expectation of 
the creation watteth for the revealing of the sons 
of God. 


36. Unitarians believe that in all men there are 
religious capacities, by which they may come into 
communion with God. These are reason, con- 
science, freedom, love of truth, of beauty, of 
goodness, the sense of the infinite, the capability 
of disinterested love; and the kindred sentiments 
of veneration, awe and aspiration. These are 
found, more or less developed, in all men, and 
where properly educated and unfolded make the 
true dignity ‘and worth of human nature. 

It is said (Romans 1:19, 20) that all men have 
a sufficient knowledge of God to enable them to 
obey and love him; and in Romans 2: 14, that the 
heathen ‘‘do by nature the things contained in 
the law.’’ The case of Cornelius the Roman 
(Acts 10:1) leads Peter to say that good men, in 
all nations, are acceptable to God (Acts 10: 34). 

37. Unitarians reject the Calvinistic doctrines 


of original sin and total depravity, the responsibil- 
57 


58 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


ity of the human race for Adam’s fall, and the 
belief that, until converted, man is under the 
wrath of God. They maintain, on the contrary, 
that if there is hereditary depravity, there is also 
inherited goodness; that such phrases as ‘‘the 
wrath of God’’ are figurative, and cannot apply to 
the Kternal Goodness. 

That man in his natural state has the power to 
do right, and that such right-doing is well pleas- 
ing to God, appears from such passages as these: 
the parable of the Sower, where the seed (the 
Word) falls into ‘‘the good ground’’ of ‘‘an 
honest and good heart’’ (Luke 8:15): the pas- 
sages which teach that the spirits of little chil- 
dren see God, face to face (Matthew 18:10, 
19:14): the parable of the Good Samaritan and 
that of the Pharisee and Publican (Luke 10: 30, 
18:9), where the good qualities of heretics and 
outsiders are commended by Jesus. And see 
especially the account of the Day of Judgment, 
where the heathen who did good actions without 
having heard of Jesus, are placed among his 
sheep. 

38. When Unitarians speak of ‘‘the dignity of 
human nature,’’ they do not mean the dignity of 
man in his actual condition, but of man as God 
means him to be and has enabled him to become. 
We find in all men powers and faculties which 
unite them with eternity no less than with time. 
We have within us reason, which is capable of 


THE NATURE OF MAN o9 


seeking and finding the noblest truths. We have 
conscience, which shows us the difference between 
right and wrong. We have the power of freedom, 
by which we can choose good and refuse evil. 
We have the sense of the beautiful, the true and 
the good; and a longing for what is unchanging 
and eternal. These powers, which are in all men, 
constitute the dignity of human nature, and make 
it capable of perpetual progress. 

39. The divinity of man, however, is best shown 
in his conflict with his environment, and the 
nobler he shows himself to be in the midst of 
trying circumstances, the greater he appears. 
If he can lose or gain all and still preserve his 
manly nature, he reveals something of the power 
that was in Jesus. But to rise to the emergency 
he must build up this diviner spirit from day to 
day in familiar tasks. That is the way Jesus 
did. That is the way we may be like him. 


Where I may find Him 


Go not, my soul, in search of him, 
Thou wilt not find him there,— 

Or in the depths of shadow dim, 
Or heights of upper air. 


For not in far-off realms of space 
The Spirit hath its throne; 

In every heart it findeth place 
And waiteth to be known. 


60 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


Thought answereth alone to thought, 
And Soul with soul hath kin; 

The outward God he findeth not 
Who finds not God within. 


And if the vision come to thee 
Revealed by inward sign, 
Harth will be full of Deity 
And with his glory shine! 


Thou shalt not want for company, 
Nor pitch thy tent alone; 
The indwelling God will go with thee, 
And show thee of his own. 


Then go not thou in search of him, 
But to thyself repair; 
Wait thou within the silence dim, 
And thou shalt find him there! 
F'reperick L. Hosmzr, 1879. 


QUESTIONS 


36. Through what capacities within us do we come 
into communion with God? Have all the same capac- 
ities? What passages in the New Testament show how 
its writers felt? Could you not say the same from your 
own experience ? 

37. What is meant by original sin and total depravity ? 
Did Jesus or Calvin teach such doctrines? Why do 
not Unitarians believe them? What is hereditary 


THE NATURE OF MAN 61 


depravity? What parables of Jesus show his belief 
about man? What is human nature? Is there a mix- 
ture of good and bad in you? 

38. Can character conquer evil inheritance? Is evil 
inheritance to be forgiven and struggled against? Will 
circumstances conquer you, or will you conquer them? 
What is noble self-development? Has God made you 
capable of it? Is its test to do as much as some one 
else, or as much as you can? Are comparison with 
others and self-examination wise? 

39. What is meant by the ‘‘dignity of human na- 
ture’’? What four faculties indicate this dignity? Is 
such dignity in you, in bad people, in savages? Is 
there any reason why it should not be in all? 


REFERENCES 
PAMPHLETS 


A. U. A. 3. Charles C. Everett. Human Nature 
not Ruined, but Incomplete. 
ee 122. George Kent. The Divinity of Man. 
4 197. Charles E. St. John. Do you Believe in 
Human Nature or Do You Not? 


BooxKs 


Keller, Helen. Story of my Infe. Doubleday, Page 
& Co., N. Y., 1910. 

Hankey, Donald. A Student in Arms. Melrose, 
London, 1916. 

Hocking, W. E. Human Nature and its Remaking. 
Yale University Press, 1918. 


. LESSON XIII 


ATONEMENT, CONVERSION 
AND REGENERATION 


Luke 17:21. For lo, the Kingdom of God is 
within you. 


40. The doctrines of atonement, conversion, 
and regeneration all spring from the idea of 
man’s weakness rather than of his strength. 
They came to Christianity from Paul rather than 
from Jesus. Paul felt deeply the weight of sin, 
Jesus, the power of eternal life. Unitarians can- 
not believe that God needed the sacrifice of Jesus 
to appease his wrath, and place little value, there- 
fore, on the doctrine of the atonement. They 
believe that it is an outgrowth of past concep- 
tions which men have in large measure aban- 
doned, and that God needed not to be reconciled 
to man, nor man to God. They believe that 
man’s thought and life and love need to be 
purified by the higher thought and life and love 
of God, and they regard the death of Jesus not 
as a sacrifice to appease the divine wrath, but as 
a splendid fulfilment of a life given for others. 


41. Conversion and regeneration are words 
62 


CONVERSION AND REGENERATION ~ 63 


which have also largely lost their earlier signif- 
icance. Many souls have deep religious expe- 
riences, but Unitarians do not speak of these 
experiences as conversions. They recognize that 
at such times men have felt the power and love 
of God filling and animating their souls, and so 
have found themselves eager to proclaim anew 
the spirit of Jesus in words of faith and deeds 
of love. 

42. ‘“Regeneration’’ is the Scripture word used 
to signify the new life which has its source not 
only in the sight of God’s law but also in that of 
God’s love. 

A converted man is one who has determined to 
do right and has begun to do right. The regen- 
erate man is one in whom the habit of right-doing 
is established—one who has come to love it, and 
to whom it is no effort. 


* Coworkers with God 


Creation’s Lord, we give thee thanks 
That this thy world is incomplete; 
That battle calls our marshalled ranks, 
That work awaits our hands and feet; 


That thou hast not yet finished man, 
That we are in the making still,— 
As friends who share the Maker’s plan, 
As sons who know the Father’s will. 


64 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


Beyond the present sin and shame, 
Wrong’s bitter, cruel, scorching blight, 
We see the beckoning vision flame, 
The blessed kingdom of the Right. 


What though the Kingdom long: delay, 
And still with haughty foes must cope? 
It gives us that for which to pray, 
A field for toil and faith and hope. 


Since what we choose is what we are, 
And what we love we yet shall be, 
The goal may ever shine afar,— 
The will to win it makes us free. 
Wituiam De Wirt Hyps, 1903. 


QUESTIONS 


41. What is the derivation of ‘‘Regeneration’’? When 
does it come into the religious life? What is the ‘‘new 
life’’? When we are wrong, what must we do? How 
do spiritual love and joy come to us? Unless we have 
turned ourselves towards the right can such love and 
joy come to us? Must the main purpose of your life 
always be noble and pure? Do our experience and 
sympathy help others? What helps men most to grow 
in the love of man and God? 

42. Do many Christians believe that God was angry 
with man, and that his wrath was only appeased by the 
death of Christ? What is meant by ‘‘vicarious atone- 


CONVERSION AND REGENERATION 65 


ment?’’ How does such a doctrine agree with the 
Unitarian idea of God? Is it God that must change 
in order to forgive us, or we in order to be forgiven? 
Are two parties necessary to a reconciliation? If the 
offender repents and tries to make up for the wrong he 
has done, to atone, is it necessary that any change should 
come over the other party, which has done no wrong? 
Is not glad forgiveness all that is due? Is the Uni- 
tarian idea of reconciliation a necessary consequence of 
its idea of God and man? What do you think of the 
Orthodox idea of Divine justice, that could not forgive 
men until Christ had died, and also that without Christ’s 
death, God could not have forgiven the millions who 
were born before him? Does it add to the confusion of 
the idea of the Trinity, that an Infinite sacrifice, God 
the Son, was needed to appease the wrath of an Infinite 
God the Father? 


REFERENCES 


PAMPHLETS 


& 


A. U. A. 201. James T. Bixby. The Passing of 
Calvimsm. 
m 256. Minot Simons. Redemption or Ke- 
covery. 


Books 


Grensted, L. W. <A Short History of the Doctrine of 
the Atonement. Longmans, Green & Co., 1920. 


LESSON XIV 
PRAYER 


Romans 8:15. For ye received not the spirit 
of bondage again unto fear; but ye received 
the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, 
Father. 


43. Prayer is turning to God and speaking to 
him in full confidence that he will listen. It is 
the communion of the finite with the Infinite 
Spirit. This is the heart of prayer. An active, 
hopeful reliance on God so opens the soul that his 
life flows in and gives us strength. Jesus says, 
‘¢Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye 
shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto 
you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he 
that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it 
shall be opened’’ (Matthew 7:7, 8). 

When the disciples came to their Master, and 
said, ‘‘Lord, teach us to pray,’’ his answer was 
in the words which we to this day call the ‘‘Lord’s 
Prayer’’ (Luke 11:2-4). The first preparation 
for prayer is to wish to love and to serve God. 
But the first impulse to pray comes often from 


thought that the path of life is difficult, as the 
66 


PRAYER 67 


soldier finds it difficult in the midst of the battle 
and seeks the help of a nature higher than his 
own. Finding help in the greater crises of life, 
we feel the power of prayer in the lesser, and 
more readily grow into its use. If we have no de- 
sire to pray, we do not really appreciate our op- 
portunities or our diviner possibilities. Prayer 
does not make the path of duty any less difficult, 
but it inspires us to take that path, however dif- 
ficult. Prayer always enables us to fight our bat- 
tles with the help of a power beyond our own, 
and whether we succeed or fail, because we feel 
that we are working with God, the peace of God 
is there. 

To pray aright we must be sincere. Jesus says, 
‘¢God is a spirit; and they that worship him must 
worship him in spirit and in truth’”’ (John 4: 24). 
We must not say with our lips the prayer which 
we do not feel with our hearts. When we are 
happy our joy may overflow to the Heavenly 
Friend from whom all our blessings come; when 
we are unhappy we may pray to the same loving 
Friend for comfort. When we are away from 
God we must pray to be brought back again; and 
when we have sinned we shall find no peace until 
we have asked our Father to forgive us and to 
help us to be again his obedient children. 

44, Objects of Prayer—The chief objects of 
prayer are spiritual. We ask God for strength, 
peace, purity, love—that is, for the Holy Spirit. 


68 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


We know that to do any duty effectually it should 
be done in the right spirit. But we cannot al- 
ways obtain a right spirit by an effort of the will. 
We may be depressed, or anxious, or vexed, or 
irritated. In that case this bad spirit will go 
into our words and actions, and prevent us from 
exercising the good influence we really have at 
heart. But if we open our soul to God, and ask 
him to help us to feel right in order to do right, 
we may be sure that this help will come. 

May we also ask for outward blessings? Some 
good and wise persons think that we ought not. 
They consider it selfish to do so, and they also 
believe that this is asking God to suspend the 
action of his universal laws. Others, however, 
say that we may ask God for anything we desire, 
and that God wishes to have us do so; just as a 
good father and mother like to have their children 
bring to them all the wishes of their heart. 

45. Times of Prayer—It may be well to have 
some fixed times for prayer—for example, the 
beginning of the day, when we are about to resume 
the duties of life, and need to go to them in a 
right spirit; and at the close of the day, when we 
may look back and thank God for what he has 
helped us to be and do, and ask his forgiveness 
for our failures. It is also desirable to pray, 
even for a moment, before any work which re- 
quires preparation that it may be done aright. 

46. Answer to Prayer—Some Unitarians be- 


PRAYER 69 


lieve that the only answer to prayer is the good 
influence which the thought of God’s presence 
exercises on the soul. In this sense prayer is the 
same as contemplation, or meditation. Others, 
however, believe that by a law of the Divine 
government prayer puts the soul into such a rela- 
tion with God that we can receive a direct in- 
fluence from him. This law requires us to ask as 
the condition of receiving some special blessing, 
which we should not be in a condition to receive 
unless we pray for it. This makes a real com- 
munion between God and the soul. 


The Clouds of Doubt 


'Twixt gleams of joy and clouds of doubt 
Our feelings come and go; 

Our best estate is tossed about 

In ceaseless ebb and flow; 


No mood of feeling, form of thought, 
Is constant for a day; 

But thou, O Lord! thou changest not; 
The same thou art alway. 


Let me no more my comfort draw 
From my frail hold of thee,— 

In this alone rejoice with awe; 
Thy mighty grasp of me. 


70 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


Lay hold of me with thy strong grasp, 
Let thine almighty arm 

In its embrace my weakness clasp, 
And I shall fear no harm. 


Thy purpose of eternal good 

Let me but surely know; 

On this I’ll lean, let changing mood 
And feeling come or go; 


Glad when thy sunshine fills my soul; 
Not lorn when clouds o’ercast; 
Since thou within thy sure control 
Of love dost hold me fast. 
JOHN CAMPBELL SHatrrP, 1871. 


QUESTIONS 


43. What is prayer? How does reliance on God affect 
our praying? What words of Jesus insist on such 
reliance? Do you often repeat the Lord’s Prayer? 
What should be the preparation for prayer? What 
often stirs the first impulse to pray? What help may 
we expect from prayer? 

44, What are the chief objects of prayer? Does 
prayer help our feeble will? Is it selfish to ask for 
outward blessings? Does such asking mean that God’s 
laws should be altered for our sake? How does a 
knowledge of God’s laws as seen through nature 
and in science affect our prayers? Might we not 


PRAYER 71 


ask God for everything, just as we ask our parents be- 
cause we tell them all that is in our hearts? 

45. Is it helpful to form habits of prayer? Do you 
find it hard to pray? What do you think most helps 
men to form and continue the habit? 

46. What is one answer to prayer? Do you believe 
that prayer is more than meditation? Why is com- 
munion more than meditation? How do you hke this 
definition, ‘‘ Prayer is resolve with the thought of God 
in it?’’ Can one’s whole life be such a prayer that 
words are seldom used? With the Unitarian idea of 
God and man, is it very natural to pray? Is prayer 
adoration, gratitude, trust? Can we pray for each 
other? for the dead? 


REFERENCHS 
PAMPHLETS 
A. U. A. 438. Charles F. Dole. The Doctrine of 
Prayer. 
he 104. Charles G. Ames. Let us Pray. 


a 106. Augustus M. Lord. The Service of 
Prayer in the Work of the World. 

i 278. Augustus P. Reccord. The Paradox of 
Prayer. 


Books 
Parker, Theodore. Prayers by Theodore Parker. 
The Beacon Press, Inc., 1901. 
Fosdick, Harry E. The Meaning of Prayer. Associa- 
tion Press, N. Y., 1917. 
Tileston, Mary W. Great Souls at Prayer. Allen- 
son, London, 1912. 


LESSON XV 
THE CHURCH 


Matthew 18:20. Where two or three are 
gathered together in my name, there am I in the 
midst of them. | 


47. Unitarians believe that the Church is a 
union of those who come together to help each 
other and the world at large to live a Christian 
life. The essential character of a church is stated 
by Jesus when he says, ‘‘ Where two or three are 
gathered together in my name, there am I in the 
midst of them’’ (Matthew 18: 20). 

To meet in the name of Jesus is to meet in 
his spirit, to do his work. To pray in his 
name is to pray in the same spirit in which he 
prayed. 

48. Unitarians believe that the work of the 
Church is to bring people together for public 
worship, to educate the young and ignorant, to 
strengthen the weak, and to co-operate in all 
attempts to elevate and improve the community. 
For this reason they look forward to the time 
when all churches shall unite together in the 


72 


THE CHURCH 73 


purpose of doing good, so that at last God’s 
kingdom may come, and his will be done on earth 
as it is in heaven. 

49. Unitarians generally accept the two or- 
dinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, not 
as essential to spiritual life, but as helps to it. 
They regard both, not as ends, but as means. 
They consider them as natural symbols and out- 
ward images of inward feeling and purpose. If 
practised merely as forms, without this inward 
application, their value is gone. 

50. Baptism, or the external application of 
water, expresses the desire that the infant or 
adult baptized may be surrounded by those out- 
ward Christian influences which conduce to purity 
of character and conduct. Water is the natural 
symbol of purity. 

In baptizing infants, Unitarians do not intend 
to express a belief that this outward act can have 
any direct effect on the soul of the child. No 
Unitarian accepts the doctrine of regeneration 
by baptism in any such sense as this. But by 
this rite we express our belief that the child is 
already dear to God, and we baptize him as an 
expression of our wish that he may have the help 
which comes from union with the Christian 
Church, and our desire that his parents and all 
others may be faithful in surrounding him with 
Christian influences, and educating him in the 
Christian life. 


74 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


51. The Lord’s Supper is the symbol of Chris- 
tian brotherhood. It also reealls the life and 
personality of Jesus and reminds us that we also 
are workers in the same great cause which claimed 
all his loyalty and sacrifice. It reminds us of 
what Jesus gave for the cause of humanity and 
of how much more we ought to give. It is thus a 
feast of remembrance, and has a tendency to 
produce and maintain a living sense of our per- 
sonal relation to Jesus as teacher, friend and 
inspirer. Unitarians usually invite all those who 
desire to remember Jesus to unite with them in 
this service. They do not consider it intended 
for church members, or professing Christians 
only, but for EON Gun eaten will? 

These two ordinances of the Christian Church, 
having been continued from the beginning, 
unite successive generations of Christians 
with each other as well as with their common 
Master. 

52. Unitarians having originated among the 
Congregationalists, are independent in their form 
of church government, and are therefore called 
Congregationalists. Hach church is independent 
of others, though ready to unite with them in 
work and sympathy. For these purposes they 
meet at stated times in local Conferences, and in 
the meetings of the American Unitarian Associa- 
tion and other national societies. 


THE CHURCH 75 


The Church Universal 


One holy Church of God appears 
Through every age and race, 
Unwasted by the lapse of years, 
Unchanged by changing place. 


From oldest time, on farthest shores, 
Beneath the pine or palm, 

One Unseen Presence she adores, 
With silence or with psalm. 


Her priests are all God’s faithful sons, 
To serve the world raised up; 

The pure in heart her baptized ones; 
Love, her communion-cup. 


s 


The truth is her prophetic gift, 
The soul her sacred page; 

And feet on mercy’s errands swift 
Do make her pilgrimage. 


O living Church! thine errand speed; 
Fulfil thy task sublime; 
With bread of life earth’s hunger feed; 
Redeem the evil time! 
SAMUEL LONGFELLOW, 1860. 


76 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


QUESTIONS 


47. What is the Church? What verse states its char- 
acter? What is meant by meeting or praying in the 
‘‘name of Christ’’? 

48. What do Unitarians regard as the work of the 
Church? Have churches been established on points of 
doctrine alone? Have those who were ‘‘regenerate’’ 
wished to exclude the ‘‘unregenerate’’? Have such felt 
that all those who took part in Church work must take 
part in the sacraments? 

49. How do Unitarians regard Baptism and the Lord’s 
Supper? Are they of use if practised merely as 
forms? 

50. What does Baptism express? Why is water used 
in its service? Does the outward act of baptism affect 
the child? Is the act really an expression of a wish for 
the child’s welfare and for the parents’ success in 
educating him religiously ? ) 

51. Of what is the Lord’s Supper a sign and symbol? 
How is it a ‘‘feast of remembrance’’? For whom is the 
Supper intended? What is, after all, the great test by 
which one may become a church member ? 

52. What is the Unitarian form of church govern- 
ment? Does our method of government show belief in 
freedom and in _ individual responsibility? Are 
many Trinitarian churches ‘‘Congregational?’’ Does 
the word ‘‘Congregationalism’’ describe our church 
polity? Is the word ‘‘Unitarianism’’ our doctrinal 
title? 


THE CHURCH 77 
REFERENCES 


PAMPHLETS 


A. U. A. 76. Charles G. Ames. The Judgment Day 

of the Church. | 

a 114. Francis G. Peabody. The Church of 
the Spirit. 

a 119. Herbert H. Mott. Why go to Church? 

¢ 142. Minot J. Savage. Is Going to Church 
a Duty? 

4d 240. Charles W. Casson. The Church of the 
Modern Spirit. 


Books 


Crooker, Joseph H. The Church of To-day. The 
Beacon Press, Inc., 1908. 

Crooker, Joseph H. The Church of Tomorrow. 
Pilgrim Press, 1911. 

Drake, Durant. Shall We Stand by the Church? 
Maemillan, 1920. 


LESSON XVI 
CREEDS 


Mark 12:29-31. The first commandment 1s, 
Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one: and thou 
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, 
and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. 
The second 1s this, thou shalt love thy neighbor 
as thyself. 


53. A creed is good as a guide or compass, but 
the important thing for the individual or the 
church is not the creed but the purpose. The 
creed has changed in expression or interpreta- 
tion from time to time, but the purpose of the 
church, though it has had varied expressions, has 
been one in all the centuries. It has been the 
service of man and the worship of God. We must 
teach men the great purpose of the church and 
the vision that will inspire them to fulfill that 
purpose. Sometimes the creed well summarizes 
the vision. To such creeds Unitarians do not 
object. Many of their churches have accepted 
such statements. One which has been popular is 


the following: 
78 


CREEDS 79 


We believe in the Fatherhood of God, 
The Brotherhood of Man, 
The Leadership of Jesus, 
Salvation by Character, 
The Progress of Mankind upward and onward 
forever. 


The Unitarian Laymen’s League has issued 
this statement, which has found ready acceptance: 

We worship the living God, our Father and 
our Friend. 

We are disciples of Jesus of Nazareth, teacher 
of the love of God and the way of life. 

We believe in the infinite worth of man and 
his power of unending growth. 

We believe in Liberty, Democracy and Law, as 
essential td human progress. 

We pray for help to worship God sincerely, and 
to serve our brothers faithfully. 

We seek ever for more Truth and more Light. 


54. But Unitarians object to religious creeds 
under the following circumstances: 1. When 
they are made a test of character; 2. When they 
are made a condition of fellowship; 3. When they 
become an obstacle to progress. 

Most of the creeds of the Christian Church have 
been liable to these objections. They have been 
made a test of Christian character, contrary to 
the distinct statement of Jesus that obedience, not 


80 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


belief, or profession, is the true test of character 
(Matthew 7:15-27), and that true religion con- 
sists in love to God and man (Mark 12: 28-34). 
They have been made a condition of Christian 
fellowship, contrary to the declaration of Jesus 
that whosoever shall do the will of God is like a 
mother and sister and brother to him (Mark 
3:35). They have been an obstacle to progress, 
imposing the opinions of past centuries upon 
present belief. Unitarians reject such creeds as 
these, but they realize the need of positive con- 
victions. 


The Larger Fath 


Our Father! while our hearts unlearn 
The creeds that wrong thy name, 

Still let our hallowed altars burn 

With faith’s undying flame! 


Not by the lightning-gleams of wrath 
Our souls thy face shall see,— 
The star of love must light the path 
That leads to heaven and thee. 


Help us to read our Master’s will 
Through every darkening stain 
That clouds his sacred image still, 
And see him once again, 


CREEDS 81 


The brother man, the pitying friend, 
Who weeps for human woes, 

Whose pleading words of pardon blend 
With cries of raging foes. 


If, mid the gathering storms of doubt 
Our hearts grow faint and cold, 

The strength we cannot live without 
Thy love will not withhold. 


Our prayers accept; our sins forgive; 
Our youthful zeal renew; 
Shape for us holier lives to live 
And nobler work to do! 
Outver WENDELL Hotmss, 1893. 


& 


QUESTIONS 


53. What is the derivation of the word ‘‘creed’’? 
Are creeds useful? What end do they serve? What 
ereed has found wide acceptance in many of our 
churches? Is there any point of belief not covered 
which you think ought to be? Is there any point which 
you think ought to be left out? 

54. What are the three ways in which creeds are 
harmful? What did Jesus say was the test of char- 
acter? Have creeds caused persecutions and prevented 
progress? Have Unitarians any creed in the usual sense 
of the word? Why? Have they always placed char- 
acter above belief? How do you like the term ‘‘basis 
of fellowship’’ instead of creed? How does a covenant 


82 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


differ from a creed? Which do you think better for a 
church? Did the early Unitarian leaders—such men as 
Channing, Gannett, Dewey—establish any creed? Had 
they strong convictions? Did they and do Unitarians 
now trust free thought? Could Unitarianism then, 
consistently with its belief in freedom and character, 
formulate a creed? 


REFERENCES 


PAMPHLETS 


A. U. A. 2. Joseph H. Crooker. The Unitarian 


Church. 
ce 58. Minot J. Savage. Unitarianism. 
itd 248. Thomas R. Slicer. What Unitarianism 
Really Is. 
nt 288. George H. Badger. Who Are These 
Umtarians? 
Books 


Sullivan, W. L. From the Gospel to the Creeds. 
The Beacon Press, Ine., 1919. , 

McGiffert, Arthur C. The Apostles’ Creed. Scerib- 
ner, 1902. 

Hopkins, Archibald. The Apostles’ Creed. The 
Beacon Press, Inc., 1902. 

Frothingham, Paul R. We Believe. The Beacon 
Press, Inc., 1917. 


LESSON XVII 
LIBERAL CHRISTIANITY 


Galatians 5:13. For ye, brethren, were called 
for freedom. 


55. Liberal Christianity, or freedom in religion, 
does not mean liberty to believe what we choose, 
nor merely to cast aside outworn creeds, but 
freedom to seek the truth anywhere, everywhere 
and always. It means that we should not only 
be willing that others should differ from us, but 
ready to help them to inquire freely, even if 
their inquiries lead them to believe what we con- 
sider erroneous. It means that we are not to 
judge each other (Matthew 7:1-5; Romans 14: 
1-23), nor allow our own belief to be ruled by the 
judgment of others, or by any church, or by any 
human authority. 

56. Rational Christianity does not mean that 
we are to reject all beliefs which we do not now 
see to be reasonable, or to make reason the only 
source of truth. But it means that we are to test 
every belief by the light of our reason, and seek 
to understand clearly what we think and why we 
think it. 


Liberal Christianity implies the ability to look 
83 


84 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


beyond the horizon of creed, ritual and church, 
and to realize the good in other creeds, other 
rituals, other churches. For there is something in 
all religions that makes all worship one. We are 
all different interpreters of the same great world. 
Some interpretations are higher than others, some 
more precious to us than others, but at the heart 
of all genuine interpretation is a love of righteous- 
ness as the worshipper understands righteous- 
ness, a deep feeling of brotherhood as _ the 
worshipper understands brotherhood, and a devo- 
tion to the service of God as far as in him lies. 
Beneath all differences of form or creed there is 
a spirit that binds us together. In the various 
Christian sects, as far as they are earnestly seek- 
ing the light, there is something that impels to 
fellowship and a realization of the great work 
we could do together. 

That which most prevents ready co-operation 
among the churches is rigidity of form and 
doctrine. Christian churches, even including the 
most conservative, are divided into two camps, 
those who are clinging to the old and those who 
are reaching out for the new. And it is the 
inadequacy of the old, and the inability of men to 
make the old the foundation of the new, and the 
desire to make the church square with more recent 
discoveries of genuine thought and life, that 
causes much of the restlessness and instability 
of the church. 


LIBERAL CHRISTIANITY 85 


Liberal Christianity recognizes that the truth 
we have is prophetic of still higher truth yet to 
be won, and implies not merely the ready accept- 
ance of it when found, but eager search for it. 
Freedom to seek the larger truth has always 
been strongly emphasized by Unitarians. 


The Reformers 


O pure reformers! not in vain 

Your trust in human kind; 

The good which bloodshed could not gain, 
Your peaceful zeal shall find. 


The truths ye urge are borne abroad 
By every wind and tide; 

The voice of nature and of God. 

Speaks out upon your side. 


The weapons which your hands have found 
Are those which heaven hath wrought, 
Light, truth, and love; your battle-ground, 
The free, broad field of thought. 


OQ may no selfish purpose break 
The beauty of your plan, 
No le from throne or altar shake 
Your steady faith in man. 
JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER, 1843. 


86 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


QUESTIONS 


55. What does Liberal Christianity mean? How can 
we have freedom in religion? Why have we not ‘‘liberty 
to believe what we choose’’? (Because of various 
reasons, such as indolence, apathy, lack of seriousness, 
etc., many choose to try to believe what they know is un- 
true.) Must we be careful to make right choices? Then 
is there freedom to seek everywhere for the truth? Hav- 
ing found what we carefully think to be the truth, must 
we allow it to be ruled by the judgment of another? 

56. What does Rational Christianity mean? Must 
we always employ our reason on every subject? Are 
Rational and Liberal Christianity the same? What do 
the words ‘‘orthodox’’ and ‘‘heterodox’’ mean? Could 
the heterodoxy of one age have become the orthodoxy of 
another age unless a free and liberal spirit had existed? 
What historic examples are there of ~— such 
changes? What is the difference between reason and 
dogma? What is reason? (See Lesson 1, § 3.) Did 
Luther uphold the right of reason? Does a liberal and 
rational spirit exclude loyalty to one’s own faith? Is 
Unitarianism a free, rational, liberal religion? Is it 
thus enabled to feel ‘‘the sympathy of religions?’’ Does 
a Rational and Liberal Christianity presuppose awe, 
reverence, faith? Can we trust what is not rational? 
Is there not the ‘‘mystery of light’’ as well as the 
‘‘mystery of darkness’? Which mystery is it, in a 
liberal and rational religion? Does such religion press 
forward to more and more truth? Is such religion but 
means to anend? Can we measure the grandeur of that 
end? Is the end the fullest knowledge of God, the 


LIBERAL CHRISTIANITY 87 


fullest development of one’s self, the truest happiness 
of others? How do you define a liberal in religion? 
Why does the Unitarian interpretation of religion appeal 
to you? In what sense are the seekers of the light one? 
What most hinders co-operation among the churches? 
How can we best secure it? What causes the restless 
spirit in religion? Can there ever be a final word in 
religion ? 


REFERENCES 
PAMPHLETS 
A. U. A. 56. J. T. Sunderland. True and False 
Inberalism. 
® 94. Thomas L. Eliot. The Radical Differ- 
ence Between Inberal Christianity and 
Orthodoxy. 
as 114. Erancis G. Peabody. The Church of 
the Spirit. 
ie 115. Charles W. Eliot. Progressive Liberal- 


ism. 

a 227. Charles W. Wendte. What is it to be 
a Inberal in Religion? 

+ 273. Charles W. Eliot. Twentieth Century 
Christianity. 


BooxKs 


Jacks, L. P. From Authority to Freedom. Williams 
& Norgate, London, 1920. 

Ashley, George T. From Bondage to Liberty in 
Religion. The Beacon Press, Inec., 1919. 

Crooker, Joseph H. The Winning of Religious 
Inberty. Pilgrim Press, 1918. 


LESSON XVIII 
CHARACTER 


Micah 6:8. What doth the Lord require of 
thee, but to do justly and to love mercy, and to 
walk humbly with thy God. 


57. Unitarians believe that the prime duty of 
man consists in doing justly, loving mercy, and 
walking humbly with God (Micah 6: 8); in loving 
God with all the heart and mind and will, and 
one’s neighbor as one’s self (Matthew 22: 37, 
39). They believe that the essence of religion 
is character; that the pure in heart see God; that 
whoever heareth the sayings of Jesus and doeth 
them has built his house upon a rock (Matthew 
7:24). They believe that if we have an earnest 
desire to lead a good life we may trust in the 
promise that ‘‘he who hungers and thirsts after 
righteousness shall be filled.’’ 

58. We believe that the really good man is 
helping to build the kingdom of God, whatever 
may be the form of his religion. Mere surface 
morality, not rooted in principle, we do not call 
goodness. But whoever seeks to do the will of 


God, and to be faithful and just to man, whether 
88 


CHARACTER 89 


he be heathen or Christian, we believe will be 
accepted by the Father of all mankind (Acts 10: 
35; Matthew 25: 34-41; Romans 2:14-16). 

59. Unitarians regard character as the end, and 
religious acts as the means and helps to that end. 
Inward goodness of the heart expressed by out- 
ward goodness in life is primary and essential. 
Religion is for sake of character, and belongs not 
only to the Church and to Sunday, but to every 
place and to all times. It must go with us to our 
home, to our place of work, to our amusements, 
and be the help and strength of every day. Relig- 
ion is given to make all life sacred; to sanctify 
business, politics, pleasure, work and all our inter- 
course with each«other. 

60. Unitarians believe that to attain the high- 
est character three things are necessary. First, 
man must worship, in order to find the inspira- 
tion for the service which is the highest ex- 
pression of character. Secondly, he must always 
be a seeker of the light and not content with the 
light he already has. Thirdly, he must make the 
light within him shine, so that men may see his 
good works and glorify, not him, but his Father 
who is in heaven. 

61. Further, Unitarians believe that we all are 
in some measure responsible for the thoughts, 
deeds and lives of others, and it is our duty by 
precept, example and character to make others 
familiar with the truths, deeds and lives that have 


90 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


inspired our own. Especially do they feel that 
the home should be the place where the children 
first learn the deeper truths for which we stand, 
and that a familiarity with our ideals as ex- 
pressed in our hymns and in the lives of our 
leaders should be established through home 
influence. 

Unitarians also believe that religious duty in- 
cludes the financial and personal support of the 
Church and the Church School—and of the Ameri- 
ean Unitarian Association and all the organiza- 
tions which further our religious activities. 


The Happy Life 


How happy is he born or taught 

Who serveth not another’s will; 
Whose armor is his honest. thought, — 
And simple truth his highest skill; 


Whose passions not his masters are; 
Whose soul is still prepared for death, 
Untied unto the world by care 

Of prince’s ear or vulgar breath; 


Who hath his life from rumors freed, 
Whose conscience is his strong retreat, 
Whose state can neither flatterers feed, 
Nor ruin make oppressors great; 


CHARACTER +E 


Who God doth late and early pray 
More of his grace than goods to lend; 
And walks with man, from day to day, 
As with a brother and a friend. 


This man is freed from servile bands 
Of hope to rise, or fear to fall; 
Lord of himself, though not of lands, 
And having nothing, yet hath all. 
Henry Wotton. 


QUESTIONS 


57. What is the prime duty of man? What do you 
consider the essence of religion? Do you love your: 
self? If not, what does it mean to love one’s neighbor 
as one’s self? What is your leading purpose? If you 
fail in its fulfilment, what is there to inspire you to try 
again ? 

58. What is surface morality? What is the important 
thing in religion, belief or doing the will of God? What 
is the real test of our acceptability to God? 

59. What is religion for? What are religious acts? 
Can we be good without them? From what should out- 
ward goodness arise? If it has any other source, does 
it often fail? Why is religion given to us? 

60. What three things are necessary to attain the 
highest character? For what three things does our 
Young People’s Religious Union stand? Which of the 
three do you consider most important? Do you think 
we could do without any one of these? 


92 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


61. In what way are we responsible for other lives? 
What is your duty to your home? to your neighbor? 
to your community? to your state? to your country? to 
your church? to your denomination? Are sects divis- 
ions or branches of Christianity ? 


REFERENCES 


PAMPHLETS 


A. U. A. 95. Thomas R. Slicer. The Old Motives 
and the New Motives in Religion 
Contrasted. 
i. 250. Augustus P. Reccord. The Peril of 
| Paganism. 
4 263. Charles G. Ames. God’s Part and Ours. 
Se 270. Charles F. Dole. The Household Re- 
| ligion. — 
R. F. N. A. 7. Francis G. Peabody. The Social Duty 
of the Unitarian Churches. 


Books 


Peabody, Francis G. The Approach to the Social 
Question. Macmillan, 1909. 

Peabody, Francis G. The Christian Infe wm the 
Modern World. Maemillan, 1914. 

Palmer, George H. Altruism. Scribner, N. Y., 1918. 

Briggs, LeBaron R. Routme and Ideals. Houghton, 
Mifflin & Co., 1905. 


LESSON XIX 
CHRISTIAN UNITY 


IT Corinthians 12:4. Now there are diversities 
of gifts, but the same Spirit. 


62. It is objected to in Unitarians that they 
differ from each other so widely as to have no 
common creed. Roman Catholics made the same 
objection against the whole Protestant Church. 
But God has so made the human mind that as soon 
as men really begin to think they begin to differ. 
The only people who think alike in this world are 
the people who do not think at all. A belief that 
is nothing more than the quotation of somebody 
else’s authoritative opinion is really no belief. 
Imitation is limitation. 

The only agreements that are worth anything 
are those that come about after full and free 
inquiry. Without free discussion differences are 
only covered up. The variety of beliefs among 
Unitarians is the evidence of open-mindedness 
and real thinking. 

What could be more stupid than uniformity of 
belief? Limit us to people of the same ideas and 


experiences and we become just mirrors of self- 
93 


94 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


repetition. Uniformity means the barrenness of 
sameness. Real unity is in the wealth of conspir- 
ing differences. 

The central principle of our religion is fellow- 
ship. The great need of a distracted world to- 
day is fraternity. The impulse of many hearts is 
toward unity. 

Men of good sense and good will in all churches 
are gaining a more generous confidence in each 
other’s purposes. We are growing accustomed 
to the cordial acknowledgment of the value of 
difference of opinion, tradition and sentiment. 
We are discovering the unity which is different 
from uniformity or conformity—a unity of motive 
and desire and need. We are learning to rec- 
ognize that all the communions embody more or 
less rich elements of life. We recognize that the 
river of spiritual truth cannot be made to flow in 
any single and undeviating channel. The grace 
of God, the Apostle tells us, is manifold. 

That is a principle precious to the people of 
the Unitarian inheritance and expressed in the 
very name of our free fellowship. The word 
Unitarian, in its original sense, does not relate to 
any dogma about the Being of God. In the Latin 
form in which it was originally used in Europe, 
Unitarui, it simply means the Unity Men, the 
people who believe in brotherhood, in mutual 
service, in equal fellowship, and try to put those 
principles into practice. 


CHRISTIAN UNITY 95 


There are, indeed, some Christians who still 
would try to make the unity that all desire a 
matter of elimination, a union in which their own 
communion will absorb all the others. There 
seems to be little prospect of success along that 
line. A mechanical uniformity is as false to the 
spirit of Christianity as is anarchy. Bigotry and 
sacerdotalism are principles of isolation, not of 
federation. 

Again, unity is sometimes sought by the way of 
legislation, and ecclesiastical councils institute 
programs and issue proclamations suggesting 
terms of agreement. Their discussions, however, 
serve chiefly to reéall attention to forgotten points 
of difference. 

Then the unity of Christendom is often spoken 
of as if it were reunion, something to be found 
by going back to some earlier phase of Christian 
experience. Unitarians believe, however, that 
unity cannot be the recovery of something that 
has been lost, but an advance to something 
that has not yet been gained. The good we have 
known is not perfect unless it points the way to 
something better. Christianity is not stagnation 
or retroaction. It is a way of life that grows 
brighter as more and more of the children of God 
walk in it together. 

Some of the programs of Christian unity hold 
that it can be achieved by whittling all our dif- 
ferent beliefs and traditions down to some irre- 


96 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


ducible minimum and uniting on that. That 
again seems an unrewarding method. We want 
not a reduced but an enriched Christianity. The 
question is not what each communion may be will- 
ing to surrender for the sake of unity, but what 
it is able to contribute that is true and vital. 
The unity we are seeking is not a matter of com- 
promise but of comprehensiveness. ; 

Religion is always something larger than the 
churches that profess it. We may not agree in 
our intellectual interpretations, but appreciation 
and hospitality and fellowship in good works are 
always possible. We need to recognize that 
while we may not have common beliefs we do have 
common perils, tasks and duties. What force is 
there in an appeal for more of human brother- 
hood in the world coming from people who them- 
selves fail to be brotherly? 


From ‘‘Christus’’ 


The clashing of creeds, and the strife 
Of the many beliefs, that in vain 
Perplex man’s heart and brain, 

Are naught but the rustle of leaves, 
When the breath of God upheaves 
The boughs of the Tree of Life, 

And they subside again! 

And I remember still 

The words and from whom they came, 


CHRISTIAN UNITY 97 


Not he that repeateth the name, 
But he that doeth the will! 


From all vain pomps and shows, 
From the pride that overflows, 
And the false conceits of men; 
From all the narrow rules 
And subtleties of schools, 
And the craft of tongue and pen; 
Bewildered in its search, 
Bewildered with the cry: 
Lo, here! lo, there, the Church! 
Poor, sad Humanity 

_ Through all the dust and heat 
Turns back with bleeding feet, 
By the weary road it came, 
Unto the simple thought 
By the great Master taught, 
And that remaineth still: 
Not he that repeateth the name 

- But he that doeth the will! 

Henry WapswortH LonGFELLow. 


QUESTIONS 


62. How did Protestants get divided into so many 
sects? Is Unity the same thing as uniformity? Can 
we not judge other sects by the best they have produced ? 
Does not Christianity need an admixture of conservatism 
and progressivism? Would it not be a dull garden with 


98 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


only one kind of flower in it? Are there not differ- 
ent paths to the same hilltop? Is Unity a matter 
of intellectual consent or a matter of spiritual ascent? 
Have not all the sects contributed something worth 
while to the completeness of Christianity? Is agree- 
ment necessary to good will? Can we not have sympathy 
and co-operation without agreeing in opinions? Can 
we not practice unity in diversity? Can we not be 
loyal to our own traditions and at the same time reverent 
of the traditions and usages that our neighbors cherish ? 


REFERENCES 
PAMPHLETS 


A. U. A. 73. Howard N. Brown. The Unitarian 
Church in tts Relation to Other 
Protestant Churches. 
121. Charles W. Wendte. The True Basis 
of Religious Unity. 
he 285. Charles W. Eliot. A Free and Open 
Christian Church. 
R.F.N. A. 4. Abraham M. Rihbany. Essential Chris- 
tianity. 
ye 10. Francis G. Peabody. The Call of the 
Bishops. 


Books 


Eliot, Charles W. The Road to Unity among the 
Christian Churches. The Beacon Press, Inc., 1920. 

Brown, Charles R. The Larger Faith. Pilgrim Press, 
1923. 


LESSON XX 
THE FUTURE LIFE 


Romans 8:2. For the law of the Spirit of life 
in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin 
and of death. 


63. Unitarians believe that the future life will 
be a continuation of the present life, with op- 
portunity for further growth and development. 
Some believe in it*only as a justifiable hope, 
others as a deep reality. At death, indeed, the 
physical processes cease, but the physical is not 
all of life. It is merely the channel through 
which the spiritual finds expression. So the ces- 
sation of physical processes does not destroy the 
soul, the personality, the spirit. The greatest 
forces of life are unseen and eternal, and all that 
we see and hear and feel is but the expression of 
them. But force is always greater than any of 
its expressions. The mind is mightier than its 
creations, love is mightier than its gifts, God is 
greater than his world, and the soul greater than 
the physical life. 


‘‘Tife is ever Lord of death, 


And Love can never lose its own.’’ 
99 


100 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


64. According to the New Testament outward 
death—what we call death—is nothing; it is 
merely the soul laying down its present instru- 
ments in order to take up others. The only real 
death is the soul’s death; that is sin, ignorance, 
unbelief. The soul which lives in selfishness and 
sin is dead in its higher faculties, and the teach- 
ings and example of Jesus lead us out of this 
spiritual death into spiritual life; as Paul says, 
‘“‘The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus, 
hath made me free from the law of sin and death”’ 
(Romans 8:2). The resurrection is spiritual 
resurrection, as real life is spiritual life. 

65. Unitarians do not connect probation, judg- 
ment or retribution with the future life. Life is 
a test that all must meet, but man is not on any 
such probation that failure will condemn him to 
everlasting punishment. Nor do Unitarians be- 
lieve ina Day of Judgment, but believe that every 
man is judged daily by his own conscience. As 
for retribution, they believe that any future 
retribution comes from the operation of the same 
laws which produce retribution here. Right doing 
tends to moral health and spiritual growth; 
wrong doing to moral weakness and suffering. 
All punishment is intended to reform and to do 
good. Unitarians do not believe in heaven and 
hell as two separate and distinct worlds—one for 
the good and the other for the wicked. Hell, as 
far it is in their thought at all, means alienation 


THE FUTURE LIFE 101 


from God, and heaven means working and living 
with God. They deny the doctrine of everlasting 
punishment as hostile to the sovereignty, wisdom, 
justice and merey of God. 


Assured 


I long for household voices gone, 
For vanished smiles I long; 

But God hath led my dear ones on, 
And he can do no wrong. 


I know not what the future hath 
Of marvel or surprise, 

Assured alone“that life and death 
His mercy underlies. 


And if my heart and flesh are weak 
To bear an untried pain, 

The bruiséd reed he will not break, 
But strengthen and sustain. 


I know not where his islands lift 
Their fronded palms in air; 

I only know I cannot drift 
Beyond his love and care. 


And so beside the silent sea 

I wait the muffled oar; 

No harm from him can come to me 

On ocean or on shore. 3 
JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER. 


102 MANUAL OF UNITARIAN BELIEF 


QUESTIONS 

63. What is the future life? What grounds have 
you for believing in it? Is it a hope or a reality? Is 
the soul mightier than any expression of it? What do 
we mean when we say of men that, being dead, they 
speak to us? Is belief in a future life a help to a 
nobler life? Why? 

64. What is the only real death? What is the 
resurrection and the life of the soul? When are we 
free from the fear of death? When does immortality 
begin? Why? Have we other reasons, besides the 
statements in the New Testament, for believing in im- 
mortality? What do science and human consciousness 
teach? Have all nations and tribes believed in another 
world? What kind of ideas have they held? What is 
your own idea of heaven? Does belief in immortality 
grow stronger as we love God and feel his influence? Is 
his very character an evidence of immortality? What 
effect does such belief have upon your own present life? 
Does such belief help you to bear the miseries of others? 
Can such belief make us selfish ? 

65. What is the Unitarian thought of probation? 
Do you believe in a Day of Judgment? What is your 
idea of retribution? Are heaven and hell places or 
states of mind? 


REFERENCES 


PAMPHLETS 


A. U. A. 42. John W. Chadwick. The Immortal 
Hope. 


THE FUTURE LIFE 103 


A. U. A. 125. Charles E. St. John. Bringing Im- 

mortality to Laght. 

‘ 196. Ulysses G. B. Pierce. A Reasonable 
Easter. 

ee 203. Paul Revere Frothingham. The Power 
of an Endless Infe. 

a 229. Charles F. Dole. The Wonderful Hope. 

if, 251. John Haynes Holmes. The Proof of 
Immortality. 


Books 


Fenn, W. W. Immortality and Theism. Harvard 
University Press, 1921. 

Lake, Kirsopp. Immortality and the Modern Mind. 
Harvard University Press, 1922. 

Shaler, Nathaniel S. TVhe Indiwidual. Appleton, 
N. Y., 1900. 

Gordon, G. A. The Witness to Immortality in Int- 
erature, Philosophy and Life. Houghton, Mifflin & 
Co., 1893. 

Randall, J. H. The New Inght on Immortality. 
Macmillan, 1921. 



















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